Prime Subjects
by ScruffyLovin
Summary: After a rather unpleasant visit to an alien planet, the team manage to gate home with two injured, only to realize that they aren't quite finished with that particular world. SJ.
1. ONE

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any characters from Stargate, or anything SG-1 related. Just the plot.

**Summary: **After a rather unpleasant visit to an alien planet, the team manage to get home, only to realize that they aren't quite done with that particular world. Eventual SJ.

**Genre: **General, drama, H/C, Romance

**Warnings: **Jack whump ahead.

**Note: **Not quite sure where this would take place in the series. There are references to other episodes, and Teal'c still has his symbiote.

**Prime Subjects**

_I am the master of my fate;_

_I am the captain of my soul._

_--**William Ernest Henley**_

**ONE**

Major Samantha Carter was roughly shoved back into the seemingly normal-looking room where she had been held prisoner for a few hours. Since she had apparently failed to give her captors what they wanted, they had all but decided she was no longer useful for the time being. Instead of the usual dusty, dank, and dark cellar-like confines that seemed to be the norm for prisons these days (no matter what planet you were on), SG-1 had been locked up in a rather nicely furnished building with just about all the blandness of an average hotel on Earth. Well, if you didn't include the invisible barriers blocking all exits and leaving no chance for escape.

The most disconcerting about all this, was that SG-1 was being held prisoner by a race that appeared half-beast and half-man. They reminded Daniel of the Unas, but didn't seem that they could be reasoned with. These creatures were more advanced than the Unas, a little more civilized in their own way, but still communicated to eachother with grunts and growls. Daniel had suggested they were somehow trying to mimic the buildings on Earth, judging by the appearance of the one they were being held in, but didn't quite understand what they'd done. He suggested it was some sort of experiment, or a way to study the inhabitants of Earth without actually being there.

Once Sam had finished glaring at the hulking, ox/human-hybrid guard that had tossed her back in the room, she turned to realize she was no longer alone. The Major was disturbed to find her CO, Colonel Jack O'Neill, curled up in the center of the floor and shaking. She hurried over, noticing the rips and tears in his clothes. "Colonel?" Sam called with concern, fear shimmering in her wide blue eyes. Carefully, she reached out and laid a hand upon his shoulder.

"Ack," Jack groaned, his eyes snapping open while he quickly rolled to his back with knees bent up, finding himself staring up at his 2IC. Squinting, Jack struggled to focus. "Carter?"

"Are you alright sir?" She questioned with concern, noticing that he'd mostly stopped trembling.

"They..drugged me with somethin'," Jack grumbled weakly, struggling to sit up.

Frowning slightly, Sam helped him up and led him toward the bed against the wall. She sat beside the Colonel, keeping an eye on him while she continued to try and figure out their situation. "Sir," she began after a few minutes, "I think Daniel was right, about this being some kind of experiment or something. It's almost like they're trying to study us,"

"Yeah," Jack grunted with a snort. "Jus' like a day at the zoo, except _we're _the exhibit."

Sam smiled faintly at the Colonel's casual sarcasm, something that always seemed to make her feel a little better when they were in a rough situation.

"Speaking of Daniel," Jack spoke up with a deep furrow between his brows. "Where is he? An' Teal'c, too?"

"I'm not sure sir," Sam admitted quietly, turning to face him. "But before now, I was in a room all by myself." A light-bulb seemed to go off inside her head, blue eyes brightening. "Maybe Teal'c and Daniel are sharing a room now too. I mean, if these aliens are trying to study us, maybe they figure they'll get more interaction with two in each room." She shrugged, watching Jack intently to see if he could be buying into her theory.

"Makes sense," he muttered lowly with a slight shrug. Again, Jack found himself thinking about zoo animals.

Sam studied Jack with concern. "Maybe you should rest sir," she suggested softly.

"Nah, I'm fine," the Colonel said dismissively, shaking his head and standing up. He shoved his hands in his pockets and began wandering around the room. There was a round wooden table in the center, with a pair of wooden chairs around it. A small door at the far end of the room lead into a bathroom with a toilet and sink that were metallic, and no shower or bath. Jack strode up to the main entrance into the room, cocking his head to the side and staring out across the hallway to see a flat grey wall. It looked as though they could walk right out, but he knew it wasn't the case. Deciding not to test the barrier at the moment, Jack did an about-face and returned to the bed where Carter still sat, watching him.

-

"I think I was right," Daniel exclaimed quietly as he leaned across the round wooden table where his roommate sat, unperplexed by his assessment of the situation. "They've got us on display of some sort, studying us," the excited archaeologist continued.

Teal'c just gave a slight nod of his head. "Indeed, it does appear that way Daniel Jackson." He folded his massive arms over the tabletop and briefly looked about the room. "But where are Major Carter and O'Neill?"

Scratching his chin momentarily, Daniel then adjusted his glasses. "Well, they must be in another room then." He shrugged, then stood as the semi-blurred form of one of their captors positioned himself just outside the door's barrier. "I need to try and communicate with them,"

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c called out in warning, following the determined man as he approached the barrier where the humanoid alien stood.

"Uh, excuse me," Daniel stopped about a foot from the barrier, waving a hand in gesture toward the man-beast that looked like a cross between a sabretooth tiger and a human. He noticed each of these guys was as big as, if not bigger than, Teal'c. They wore gladiator-esque armor, and appeared rather threatening. Daniel was surprised at the technology these creatures possessed. He couldn't help but wonder if there was more to this than it seemed. Could these creatures be slaves to the Goa'uld? Was it even possible? They bore no markings to prove it was so, but their attitudes were awfully familiar.

The beast-man grunted at Daniel, slightly baring his teeth as if annoyed.

"Riiiight," Daniel smiled hesitantly before gesturing toward himself and Teal'c. "We had uh..two others with us. I was uh..wondering...well.. Could you tell us what happened to them?"

"Ung," the guard released a grunt/growl before touching a bluish-green crystal on the upper left side of his chest plate. This caused a brief flicker in the barrier, followed by a soft whine of machinery. He reached in with a massive hand/paw, grabbing Daniel roughly by his shirt and tugging him through the doorway, hitting the crystal on his uniform once more, reactivating the barrier before Teal'c could follow.

-

Daniel found himself being led down a single long corridor with flat grey walls on either side, and no doors. However, there was a slight glow of light coming from a doorway up ahead, and he had to wonder if it was another room with a barrier blocking the way like the room he and Teal'c were being held in. Soon the linguist was proved wrong as he was pushed forth into the room once they arrived, only to see a big open space with a single throne at the far side of the room where another of the beast-men sat. Daniel guessed the one on the throne was their leader.

The sabretooth beast-man roughly held Daniel's shoulder and shook him slightly. "Margus rrg nuh Urgnak," he grunted toward the one on the throne.

Daniel's brows were furrowed slightly as he tried to figure out what they were saying. The one on the throne was bathed in a dim light, and he noted this man-beast looked much like a jaguar. He had a commanding presense and wore gold armor.

The leader lifted his chin and eyed Daniel with steady, slitted cat eyes. "Urgnak," he repeated what the other said, then waved a massive paw of dismissal. "Ruksha, grrn ruh Urgnak," came the low, throaty growl.

After he was lead from the room by the sabretooth beast-man, Daniel spoke, hesitant to do so in front of the leader. "Urgnak," he repeated what he'd heard several times, gaining the guard's attention. "Is that us? Humans? Are we...Urgnak?" Daniel tapped his chest, blue eyes staring questioningly at the guard holding his shoulder fiercely.

"Urgnak," the beast repeated with a sharp nod.

"Okay, I think I'm getting somewhere," Daniel murmured aloud to himself. He struggled against the barbarian's grip, futilely trying to get him to stop. "Wait, wait, wait... I need to know where the others are."

"Grrrar!"

"Yeah," Daniel winced slightly at the loud roar that reverberated in his ear. "You're probably telling me to shut up, but I need to know Jack and Sam are okay." He thought hard, trying to figure out a way to convey his concerns to the man-beast. "Urgnak, other Urgnak," He gestured toward himself, tapping his chest a few times before gesturing toward two invisible figures beside him in an attempt to show he meant 'others'.

With a hefty sigh, the sabretooth tugged Daniel down a different corridor.

He was finally jerked to a stop in front of a new barrier, and Daniel squinted to peer into the room, finding the blurred images of his friends sitting together on a bed against the wall. "Jack! Sam!" He called out, trying to gain their attention. When they both looked toward the doorway, recognition lit their faces and they stood, rushing over.

"Daniel?" Jack called out to him questioningly, noticing the burly sabre-man firmly gripping his friend's shoulder.

Sam stood by, looking on with concern, thinking their friend had gotten into some kind of trouble and was being led away for punishment.

"I'm okay," Daniel assured them both, eyes drifting hesitantly to the guard holding him. "I think I'm learning about their language. He seemed to understand when I asked about you guys, and I think this is his way of showing me you two are okay," The archaeologist shrugged when the sabre-man growled lowly.

"Yeah, he seems like a pal," Jack muttered with a sarcastic grimace.

Sam noticed the guard with Daniel wasn't the same one who had been dragging herself and the Colonel around. "Is Teal'c with you?" she asked suddenly, wanting to get all the information she could before he was taken away again.

"Uh-huh," Daniel nodded. "We're both okay," His brows furrowed when he suddenly realized Jack looked a bit off, and his clothes were torn. "Are you guys both alright?"

"I'm fine," Sam said quickly before gesturing toward Jack, "But they drugged the Colonel with something," she frowned uneasily.

"It's worn off," Jack muttered dismissively, waving a hand. "Just left me a little disoriented, that's all," He shrugged it off, looking up as the sabre-man started to take Daniel away. "Hang in there Danny, we'll figure a way outta this," he called out confidently as his friend was taken out of his sight.

Daniel waved, smiling faintly at Sam and Jack before he was gone.

Jack sighed and hung his head. The man-beast that had dragged him from his single room before tossing him in the one he'd ended up sharing with Carter had done more than just drug him, he'd beaten him pretty good. But that was something Jack would rather not admit just yet. He didn't want any of teammates to worry. Releasing another heavy sigh, he wearily dragged his feet off toward the round table in the center of the room to sit down.

Sam headed over to him, not yet taking a seat but resting one hand on the back of the opposite chair. She studied the Colonel guardedly. He appeared rather pale, making her suspicious of his condition and wondering if the alien drug somehow had weird effects on humans.

-

What seemed like hours later, SG-1 were all taken out of their rooms and herded to a fenced-in area outside the building they were locked up in. The fences out in the yard, which was eerily reminiscent of a prison yard, had visible barriers, but the team guessed they were reinforced by the same energy force-fields that kept them in their rooms.

Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c sat at one end of the yard on a metal bench while Jack wandered about the perimeter. Major Carter guessed that he was searching for any weak points in the fencing and/or barrier. Meanwhile, she and Daniel discussed their captors, tossing their theories back and forth. Teal'c just got up and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, keeping an eye on the pair of armed guards standing watch by the door to the building.

"The guards did not appear armed before now," Teal'c suddenly noted aloud.

Both Sam and Daniel looked to him, then squinted to peer at the guards in the distance. "They don't look like Goa'uld weapons, but sorta similar." Sam said, glancing at the Jaffa.

"Yeah," Daniel started with wide eyes as he peered at the weapons. "But they still look like they could do some pretty heavy damage all the same,"

"I agree," Sam nodded. "Whatever we do, we'd better be careful," She sought out the Colonel, still walking the perimeter of the yard. His movements seemed slow and slightly labored. Sam made a note to ask him about that once they were returned to their room, though she knew it would be a hard task getting him to admit anything. The rips in Jack's clothes led her to believe that the creature that took him earlier had roughed him up quite a bit as well as drugging him. He looked awful, and she was really worried.

-

Once they'd been brought back to their respective quarters, each pair was left with a set of trays on their center table. Hungry after not having eaten in several hours, Sam and Jack closed in on the food. It looked very similar to Earth food; chicken with a side of mashed potatos and peas, so they shrugged and dug in without a second thought.

Jack had barely taken a single bite before being grabbed roughly by the collar of his jacket and jerked backward out of the chair. "Hey!" he grumbled with annoyance, struggling against the grip as he managed a half-turn to see who had grabbed him.

Sam's eyes widened as she stared at the alien that had snatched the Colonel away from his meal. She made a move to stand, but he growled harshly at her and Jack was waving for her to stay put. This particular man-beast looked part aligator, with the scaled body and rows of sharp teeth to match. She had to wonder if this was the alien that had been involved in the Colonel's earlier rough treatment.

"Hey Scaleface, what's the big deal?" Jack grumbled, still struggling in the beast's grip. He was rewarded with a none-too-friendly smack in the head for his troubles. "Ack," he groaned, reaching up a hand to rub at his temple.

"Colonel!" Sam could feel her heart pounding fit to burst as Jack was dragged away, his eyes still telling her to let it go. She didn't want to. Something bad was about to happen to him, she knew it.

When Jack had gone, Sam found herself unable to complete her meal. She crawled onto the bed and sat leaning against the wall with her knees drawn close to her chest. Sick to her stomach with worry, she sat staring into space and chewing her bottom lip.

-

Just a little over an hour had passed before Jack was returned. Sam jumped to her feet with a gasp as the Colonel was tossed through the yeilding barrier, followed into the room by the gator-man that had taken him earlier.

Rolling and then staggering to his feet, Jack took this opportunity to attack. He lunged for the creature and football tackled him toward the doorway.

The huge gator-man fell back with surprise, then whipped his thick tail into the Colonel's side when the man pounced upon him, wailing with his fists.

Jack released a muffled cry of pain, holding his side as he fell to the ground.

Sam quickly went into action, spying the guard's fallen weapon. Diving for it quickly, she wrapped her hands around the short, staff-like weapon and pointed it at the creature.

"Shoot 'im!" Jack barked through clenched teeth, struggling to get back on his feet and away from the beast.

Quickly firing at the creature's chest, Sam was caught by surprise as the falling guard swung a hefty, clawed fist, backhanding her and knocking her limply to the ground. She'd hit her head hard on the floor and then knew no more.

"Carter!" The sight of Sam getting smacked by the gator-man was enough to get Jack on his feet again. In one swift move, he slid painfully on his knees to make a grab for the weapon as he realized the guard was still alive and getting up. As soon as he had the weapon in hand, Jack turned and discharged it directly into the alien's gut, causing the creature to release a garbled roar before falling.

Breathing heavily and nearly collapsing from his efforts and the beating he'd already sustained, Jack scrambled to his feet once more, ripping the bluish-green jewel from the guard's uniform before hurrying over to Sam. He knew this little scuffle would have alerted more guards, so he had to act fast. After hastily checking the Major's pulse, he lifted her gingerly into his arms and tapped the crystal, watching the barrier at the door flicker briefly before stepping through.

-

**Note: **Don't worry, there's more to come! Please review!


	2. TWO

**Note: **This chapter woulda been up last night, but was being a pain and wouldn't let me post. XP Thanks for reviewing my first chapter, here's number two. I've already got several chapters lined up and finished, so when they'll be up depends on when I have time to edit and post. Don't worry though, 'cuz there's definetly more:)

**TWO**

Since finishing up their relatively normal meal, Daniel and Teal'c were at a loss of what to do. They went about thinking of a means of escape, but their conversation was soon interrupted by a familiar shout, and a flicker of the barrier at the doorway. The two leapt to their feet and rushed out the door, seeing a worse-for-wear Jack carrying an unconscious Sam in his arms.

"God, Jack, what the hell happened?" Daniel exclaimed once they were in the dull grey corridors.

"No time for that now Danny!" Jack barked weakly as he hurried along, fighting for every ounce of strength he had and praying for his shaking legs not to fail him now. "We gotta get outta here!"

"O'Neill," Teal'c began as they ran down the halls, searching for the exit. "Shall I take Major Carter from you?" He questioned lowly, seeing that the Colonel was barely keeping on his feet as it was.

"No, I got her," Jack muttered simply in response, holding her close to his body protectively as they moved on.

Teal'c said nothing further. Instead he resigned himself to keeping an eye on O'Neill while they made a hasty retreat.

-

"Unauthorized off-world activation!" The alarms sounded loudly at the SGC as General Hammond quickly made his way to the control room, hovering by Walter's shoulder as the technician stared at the computer monitor, searching for an IDC code.

"It's SG-1, sir!" Walter announced loudly after a brief moment.

"Open the iris!" Hammond ordered hurriedly. "They've been out of reach for over twelve hours now," he exclaimed to no one imparticular, patting the technician's shoulder before making his way down into the gate room. Although he knew there was a chance the team had been compromised, he couldn't just lock them out knowing they could very well be coming in hot with injuries among them.

Dr. Jackson, Teal'c, and Colonel O'Neill all stumbled out of the wormhole and onto the gate ramp, an unconscious Major Carter still cradled carefully in Jack's arms. The iris whirled closed as soon as the team was clear.

Seeing their dilemma, General Hammond immediately met them at the bottom of the ramp, shouting back, "Get a medical team down here, now!" He eyed his Second in Command with serious concern. "Colonel, what happened?"

Seeing that Jack was struggling to catch his breath, Daniel answered for him. "We were captured General. A group of aliens were holding us prisoner in a compound a few miles from the gate." He paused, breathing heavily. "We barely managed to escape,"

Jack looked up weakly as Janet bustled into the gate room with her medical team, wheeling in a gurney for Major Carter. Only then did he carefully set her down, following the medical personnel out of the room as they rushed back toward the infirmary.

Once receiving a nod from the General, both Daniel and Teal'c went to join the Colonel.

-

Sam laid silently on a bed in the infirmary, still unconscious. She had a nasty bruise to her left temple, and Dr. Fraiser had hooked her up with some pain medication on a drip, along with the usual IV fluids.

"Colonel?" Janet stepped beside the man sitting in a chair alongside Sam's bed, holding one of her hands in his own. "Sir, I've already given Daniel and Teal'c their post-mission checks, and they're both fine. I'd really like to take a look at you though. It seems you've been a little worked over yourself," she said lightly, but Jack made no move to get up, his tired eyes still fixated on the unconscious Major.

"How's Carter?" He asked hoarsely, ignoring her attempts to get him looked at.

"She'll be just fine. Sam's got a pretty good concussion, but she's going to be okay," Janet assured him with a warm smile. She laid a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Colonel, now if you'll just let me check you over-"

"I'm fine Doc," he mumbled dismissively. "Just a few cuts and bruises. You can gimme the works after Carter wakes up if it'll make you happy," Jack told Janet firmly, not willing to leave his post at Sam's bedside. He felt responsible for her getting hurt, feeling as though she would have been fine if he managed to take the guard out in the first place.

Janet finally sighed, reluctantly giving in. "Alright, but if she's not awake in an hour I'll have the General order you to let me run some tests,"

"Yeah, yeah," Jack grumbled wearily with a faint grin in the doctor's direction just before she closed the curtain and walked away.

-

Forty-five minutes had passed before Sam woke up. When she finally did, she found herself surrounded by comforting faces. Jack, Teal'c, and Daniel were all around to make sure she was okay. Janet stopped in briefly to check her vitals before giving Sam some time with her teammates. The doctor had ushered the nursing staff out of the infirmary as well, since there were no other patients that needed tending to.

After a little while, Daniel noticed a look shared between Jack and Sam. He was aware that the pair didn't need words to convey their feelings toward one another, but decided they could use a few moments alone after all they'd been through. Nudging Teal'c, he gestured toward the door before leaving them.

Janet was waiting just outside the infirmary when Daniel and Teal'c left. She smiled gently at them, receiving a slight bow from Teal'c before the Jaffa announced he was going off to perform kelno'reem. When Daniel remained behind, she rose an eyebrow at him questioningly. "Are you feeling alright Daniel?" she asked the archaeologist curiously, noticing he looked decidedly edgy.

"Me?" He turned to her with surprise. "Yeah, I'm fine." Pausing, Daniel's gaze drifted to look back into the infirmary. "It's Jack I'm worried about," he turned back to Janet with brows furrowed in concern. "He's not looking too good Janet. Has he had his post-mission check yet?"

She looked past Daniel with concern, but because of the curtain surrounding Sam's bed, Jack was out of her view. "God, I've completely forgotten," Janet exclaimed suddenly. "I promised I'd let the Colonel wait until Sam woke, just so he could make sure she was okay." She made a move to enter the infirmary when she heard a dull thud followed by Sam's worried shout.

"Janet!"

Both the doctor and Daniel hurried into the room, rushing toward the bedside and drawing back the curtain to find Colonel O'Neill collapsed on the floor beside Sam's bed. Janet immediately reached for his pulse, finding it rapid and weak. His breathing was quick and shallow as well. She was concerned about how pale he was, and his skin was cool and clammy to the touch.

Returning to semi-consciousness, Jack groaned and rolled to his side, curling up into the fetal position and wrapping his arms around his stomach guardedly.

"Daniel, call my nursing staff back in here quickly," Janet issued out the orders and Daniel was eager to comply as he raced out of the room.

Sam was sitting up with a hand to her head, watching the doctor check Jack over with worried, glassy eyes. "Janet?"

Looking up briefly, Janet's concerned expression matched Sam's before she focused back on the Colonel and gently grasped his shoulder, urging him to lay flat on his back. "Easy sir," she warned gently as he groaned. Janet lifted his shirt to find a map of dark bruises along the Colonel's abdomen and sides, and she pressed a hand lightly to his alarmingly taut and swollen belly, causing him to hiss with pain and squirm beneath her touch.

"Oh, God," Sam gasped, still looking down from the bed.

"He's bleeding internally," Janet explained to Sam, turning her head as Daniel returned with a few nurses. "Get me a gurney," she started barking out the orders, getting her staff to move quickly. "We've got to get him to the OR, NOW!"

Precious few moments later, Jack was being wheeled into surgery, leaving a very distraught Sam who had watched the scene unfold with concern and fear. She was leaning forward with both hands to her head, tears streaming down her face.

Daniel was by the door, unsure what to do with himself. He blinked slowly, in shock of what had transpired. In an effort to comfort his obviously distressed friend, Daniel sat on the edge of the bed and began rubbing her back slowly. Not knowing what to say, he just let the words tumble out, as over-used and cliche as they were in a situation like this. "It's gonna be okay Sam,"

She sniffled and clenched her eyes shut, trying to fight back more tears. Her head still hurt and she was exhausted, but she tried fighting it. However, her fight didn't last long, and Sam soon found herself slumping against Daniel.

Noticing she'd fallen asleep, Daniel eased Sam back down against the pillows and covered her with the blanket. He sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. After a moment of thought he got up to leave the infirmary, intent on returning once he'd spoken to the General and Teal'c about Jack, realizing Janet wouldn't have the time.

-

Sam woke abruptly, sitting up and grasping her head as the movement caused a pounding in her skull. "Jack!" she gasped with wide eyes, breathing heavily. A gentle hand on her shoulder relaxed her slightly, and the Major found herself staring directly into Daniel's blue eyes searchingly. "Daniel-"

"He's okay Sam," The archaeologist smiled gently, reassuringly. He moved around her bed and drew back the curtain surrounding the bed to the right of Sam's, revealing the unconscious form of Jack, hooked up to many monitors and other medical machinery. "Janet said the surgery went well, he should recover just fine,"

Rubbing her suddenly watery eyes, Sam focused on the sight next to her bed. She sniffled as a wavering smile crossed her face. More than relieved that Jack was going to be alright, Sam didn't even bother to hide her eagerness to be closer to the Colonel. She shifted to let her legs dangle off the edge of the bed, then slowly made a move to get up, when Daniel gripped her arm as she swayed.

"Easy Sam, take it easy," he told her softly, concerned.

"I just want to sit with him Daniel," she explained, not about to stand down.

He nodded understandingly, holding up a hand to gesture for her to wait. "I know, just let me get a wheelchair so you can sit comfortably, okay?"

Sam sighed with a nod, but Daniel was already retrieving a wheelchair. She smiled thankfully as he brought it over, then held her arm steadily and guided her into the chair when she swayed slightly from dizziness again. "Whoa," she gasped slightly, blinking to try and clear her head as she was eased down into the chair.

Daniel stuffed some pillows behind Sam and offered a blanket, then wheeled her beside the Colonel's bed, taking the rack of IVs with her. He'd been there himself, watching over his friend since Jack had left surgery. Both Teal'c and even General Hammond had stopped by as well. Janet had almost set the Colonel up in a medical isolation room, but Daniel convinced her that both he and Sam would probably be better off if they could see how the other was doing. Janet smiled knowingly and agreed.

"Thanks," Sam whispered to Daniel with a grateful smile. She reached out for Jack's lifeless hand when the archaeologist patted her shoulder and made his exit. Her eyes roamed over the wiring that snaked beneath the Colonel's shirt, which no-doubt concealed the bandage over his abdomen from the surgery, as well as the many bruises he'd aquired from their captors. The memory caused her to frown with a shaky sigh. It pained her to think of what the Colonel had gone through.

-

Sam had lost track of time while she'd been in the infirmary, not even confident of what day it was. She hazarded a guess that almost twenty-four hours had passed since they'd been captured. This meant it was either really late or really early. Either way, Sam knew only two things; she was very tired, and very hungry. Luckily for her, Janet was thoughtful enough to bring in a tray of food.

The doctor wasn't surprised to find Sam keeping vigil at the Colonel's bedside. She knew just how much those two cared for one another, even if they couldn't openly show it, especially in the work place. "Thought you could use something to eat," Janet smiled gently as she caught Sam's attention.

"Thanks Janet, I'm starved," She admitted quietly, gratefully accepting the food and setting it down on her lap.

The doctor smiled gently before checking Sam's IVs, then doing the same with the Colonel. She looked over the monitors, then pulled down the blanket slightly and lifted Jack's scrub shirt to examine his surgical incision. Satisfied that there was no infection, Janet cleaned the area before rebandaging it and pulling his shirt down again. Leaving the blanket at the Colonel's waist, Janet briefly adjusted the oxygen cannula under his nose before she was done. "He's looking a bit better," she commented with a faint smile.

Sam set down her fork and focused on the doctor. "You really think so?" Her bright blue eyes were watery and hopeful.

"Mm-hm," Janet nodded. "The anesthetic's already wearing off and the Colonel should be waking in a few hours," she told the Major confidently. Brows knitting together in thought, the doctor tilted her head to one side to examine the bruise on Sam's temple. "How are _you _feeling Sam?"

"I'm alright," Sam smiled tightly, unconsciously rubbing her temple lightly. "Still have a headache, but the drugs are helping. No biggie," she shrugged slightly.

Janet gently squeezed her shoulder. "I want you to get some rest too Sam, okay?" When the Major rolled her eyes, Dr. Fraiser gave her a stern look. "That's an order,"

"Yes Doctor," Sam smiled sarcastically, handing the doctor her plate of mostly-finished food.

-


	3. THREE

**Note: **Thanks for the reviews guys. ::grins:: I'm not sure if anyone's getting their author/story alerts, 'cuz I haven't been getting mine for the past few days. I'm wondering if there's a site problem or something. ::shrugs:: Anyways, here's a new chapter. Enjoy!

**THREE**

Teal'c entered the infirmary for a visit around 0300 hours. He discovered Major Carter fast asleep in a wheelchair beside the Colonel's bed, one hand resting on the mattress atop his own. A rare smile graced his lips as he studied the sight before him. It was long past overdue for Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill to be together, even if it was only because of unfortunate circumstances, and they weren't exactly 'together'. Teal'c was confident that the time O'Neill and Carter would have to spend in the infirmary together during their recoveries would benefit both of them in the long run.

Striding toward his friends, Teal'c found a nearby stool and dragged it alongside the Colonel's bed on the opposite side where Sam was seated. He stayed there for awhile, paying no mind to the several nurses milling about, checking vitals, fluids, and whatnot. The slightly quickened beeps of O'Neill's heart monitor had Teal'c on his feet in alarm. He noticed the Colonel's eyes moving rapidly beneath closed lids and tilted his head sideways with interest. "Doctor Fraiser!" The large Jaffa called out suddenly, forgetting that Major Carter was sleeping, though she remained so despite the noise.

"In here Teal'c, I'm coming!" Janet responded from a room connecting to the infirmary. She rushed toward the bed, adjusting the stethoscope around her neck.

"I believe Colonel O'Neill is returning to consciousness," Teal'c commented, hands clasped behind his back while he gazed down upon his brother in arms.

Janet smiled as she briefly examined Jack, also noticing that his heartbeat had shifted out of the restful rhythm. "I think you're right Teal'c," She reached out and placed a hand on the patient's shoulder. "Colonel, can you hear me?"

Slowly, Jack's eyelids fluttered open and he was squinting up at Janet. _"Doc?" _he croaked weakly, taking a moment to understand his surroundings and mutter,_ "What's..goin' on?" _

Glancing once at Teal'c, Janet smiled gently down at her patient. "You're just waking up after surgery Colonel. You were suffering from internal bleeding and we had to operate right away, but you're going to be just fine now," Reaching for a nearby cloth, she gingerly mopped his forehead.

"Oh," Jack murmured without really comprehending. His head jerked up suddenly, but he found himself too weak to manage sitting up. _"Carter," _he gasped with wide, apprehensive eyes.

"Easy Colonel," Janet pushed more firmly against his shoulder, her words soft and soothing.

"Major Carter is doing well O'Neill," Teal'c was quick to assure him, gesturing to the Colonel's left side.

Jack relaxed back against the pillows, and he suddenly realized the sensation of someone's warm hand atop his own. Turning his head to where Teal'c had gestured, the Colonel blinked, feeling slightly at ease when he saw her fast asleep in the wheelchair beside his bed. He let his eyes close slowly before jerking his head, fighting the sleep that his body still craved.

"Colonel," Janet still had a hand pressed to his shoulder, silently urging him to lay still. "Try and rest sir, I don't want you further upsetting your injuries. You need time to heal," she was smiling gently at Jack, her expression one as a concerned friend and not just his doctor.

Breathing slowly, Jack weakly flipped his left hand and gently squeezed Sam's. He licked his dry lips, throat raw from the anesthetic. With a weak cough he winced, gritting his teeth against the pain it caused.

Teal'c realized what O'Neill needed and grasped a plastic cup of water with a straw from the nearby table. He silently handed it over to Janet so she could offer it to the Colonel.

"Thank you Teal'c," Janet smiled kindly at the gentle giant, receiving a bare smile and slight bow in return. She held out the cup, placing the straw between Jack's dry, cracked lips. "Here you go Colonel. Drink it slow now,"

Jack had taken a few satisfying sips of water before Janet took it away.

Dr. Fraiser backed off as the Colonel drifted again, and she briefly checked Sam's pulse before adjusting the blanket around the sleeping Major and nodding to Teal'c in a gesture that clearly said to leave the two alone. She notified her nurses to keep an eye on them without disturbing either patient, then left the infirmary to retreat to her office for a short time.

-

"Jack's awake?" Daniel had been doing some research on the planet where they'd been captured when Janet came in to give him the news. It was late, or rather, early, and he was avoiding sleep, but at the moment he just didn't care.

"He was," Janet nodded with a tight smile. "The Colonel's resting now though. Sam's doing the same," Her brows knit together as she leaned over the archaeologist's shoulder to see the many books and papers scattered about over his desk. She lifted one paper with a sketchy drawing of a humanoid lion. "What's this?"

Daniel slowly took the paper from her. "Oh, well I was trying to look into any myths and legends that had to do with animal...people," he shrugged with a lopsided smile, glancing at the books scattered about.

"Find anything?" she asked somewhat interestedly.

Shaking his head, Daniel released a frustrated sigh. "Not..really," He held a thoughtful expression for a moment before speaking somewhat excitedly. "I wasn't able to find any cultures that seemed to resemble theirs enough, but actually, I think both Sam and I were partially correct in our theories about these beast people trying to study us. But, I don't think we were captured to be studied..." Pausing, Daniel met Janet's questioning gaze. "I think we were captured as pets," His own eyebrows were raised.

"Pets," Janet repeated, wide-eyed.

"Yeah," Daniel nodded affirmatively. "I mean, think about it. They captured us and put us in rooms similar to a place you'd find on earth; a habitat," he clarified, waving about with his hands. "Later we were brought out to a fenced yard, I'm assuming, for exercise." He shrugged.

"I suppose," Making a face that had the possibility of an agreement, Janet half-shrugged in return.

"I also think that humans once occupied that world before being captured, and possibly...ultimately..._destroyed_...by these aliens." Daniel threw out the possibility. "For all we know, the original humans from the planet could be locked away in another building, similar to the way we were imprisoned. They could even have been held up in the _same _building," he exclaimed, shrugging again. "We weren't there long enough to find out, so it's possible."

Nodding, Janet headed over to the door, one hand resting on the knob. "Have you told General Hammond about this?"

"Uh, not yet," Daniel scrambled to his feet, gathering up a few papers and folders. "But I think I will," he smiled lopsidedly and patted the doctor's shoulder. "Thank you Janet, I think I'll go do that now,"

She smiled as he passed her, then just shook her head and closed the lab door before striding on down the hall. Suddenly realization struck, and Janet turned around to hurry after Daniel. "Daniel, wait!" she called frantically after him, jogging and turning the corner to have him stop abruptly and turn to her with a perplexed expression.

"What? I forget something?" He adjusted the glasses that were falling down his face.

"Daniel, it's almost 0400, I'm sure the General's gone home by now," Janet smiled gently, putting a hand to Daniel's shoulder. "Why don't you get some rest. General Hammond can hear more about it in the morning."

"Ah, right.." Daniel nodded somewhat reluctantly, tucking the papers and folders under one arm and running a hand through his hair. He smiled somewhat bashfully and turned again down the hall, waving a hand back at Janet as he walked. "You should get some rest too you know,"

Janet smiled at his thoughtfulness. "Yes, I suppose I should." She blinked, bowing her head slightly in agreement.

-

Jack was awake for several minutes, taking time to get his bearings before Sam woke. Her hand was still held gently in his own, and he was watching her carefully as her eyelids fluttered. He had an almost-impish smile on his face when she finally seemed to focus on him. "Hey sleepyhead," he murmured softly.

"Jack!" Sam's eyes were wide and she had unconsciously pulled her hand away from his to press it to her temple. Just then she noticed the somewhat amused look he was giving her and realized she'd called him Jack. "Uh, Colonel, sir," she fumbled, wincing slightly at her returning headache. "You're awake,"

"Good deduction," he murmured softly with a faint smirk.

Sam snorted softly, feeling her cheeks flush with warmth. "So," she began, changing the subject with a quick smile, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Jack answered quickly and dismissively as usual. The man absolutely hated being fussed over. He rose an eyebrow slowly. "How 'bout you Carter?"

She smiled and rubbed her forehead. "To tell you the truth sir, I could use a few Aspirins. But other than that, I'm good,"

"Glad to hear it," Jack mumbled somewhat groggily. He was still fighting the effects of many drugs in his system.

Both Sam and Jack turned their attention to the infirmary door when they heard the approaching footsteps in the otherwise silent corridor. Within seconds Janet was coming through the open door. She appeared pleased to see the both of them awake. "Colonel, Major, how are you both feeling?"

"Fine," Jack answered dismissively once more.

"I'm alright," came Sam's response while she looked over at Janet.

The doctor smiled at her knowingly. "I'll give you some more pain medication for your headache," Janet walked over and placed a comforting hand on the Major's shoulder before checking the Colonel's monitors. She was glad to see him awake and lucid, but her patient was a bit too pale for her liking. Placing a hand on Jack's forehead, she drew a penlight from her coat pocket and checked his pupil's reactions. "Sir, readings have shown that your blood volume and BP's a little low, so I'd like to get you hooked up to a blood bag," she told him, awaiting the impending argument, but it never came.

Jack just blinked slowly. "Not enough needles pokin' in me for your liking Doc?" he mumbled jokingly with a weak smirk.

Janet smiled apologetically and shook her head. "Sorry Colonel," she turned to Major Carter. "Sam, I want you back in bed okay? I'd still like to keep an eye on you for another twenty-four hours."

"Alright," Sam sighed reluctantly as Janet pulled the wheelchair from beside the Colonel's bed and moved it over to her unoccupied one. She fought a wave of dizziness as the doctor helped her move from the chair to the bed.

Moving beside Jack again, Janet lifted his wrist to check his pulse for herself, not fully relying on the monitors. Her brows furrowed. "Sir, are you feeling lightheaded at all?"

Taking in a slow, deep breath, Jack blinked and thought for a moment. "Mm...ah, a little," he admitted quietly.

Turning slightly, Janet gestured toward one of her medical staff. "Could you get me a unit of blood for Colonel O'Neill please?" She handed the young, rosy-cheeked nurse his chart to assure the right blood type was aquired.

"Sure Doctor," the nurse replied quickly, looking over the chart before taking off.

Jack cleared his throat and shifted carefully before Janet turned to him. "Hey Doc, any chance that-"

"Nope," Janet interrupted firmly.

His mouth hung open while he stared back at her with furrowed brows. "How do you know what I'm gonna say?"

Janet rolled her eyes. "I know you all too well Colonel. When you're stuck in my infirmary it's only a matter of time before you start to get antsy and want to leave. My answer is no," She eyed him sternly when he looked about to object. "You're not leaving for some time sir, I'm sorry."

Jack grunted and turned his head to the side to see Sam stifling a laugh.

-

After Jack was given the blood he was pretty drowsy and Janet instructed him to sleep for awhile after making sure he had some breakfast. Sam had gotten thouroughly checked over once more before being allowed to shower and change, and then she had to return to bed. Her head didn't feel quite so bad anymore, but she wasn't tired enough to sleep. Since Janet had sternly forbidden use of her laptop, because she said it wouldn't help with Sam's concussion, she found herself laying there bored to death with nothing to do but twiddle her thumbs and watch Jack sleep.

Two hours went by before Jack woke, and by that time Sam had done plenty of twiddling, and even a little thinking. When Daniel stopped by earlier and discussed his new theories on the aliens that had abducted them, she was more than intrigued. But now that Jack was awake she wouldn't bother him with such matters. Instead, they played chess. Teal'c came to the infirmary with the board per Sam's request. He helped her into the wheelchair that was still nearby, then pushed a tray over the bed for them to play on.

Jack moved one of his black pieces along the board after a moment's thought. He rose an eyebrow at Sam as she made a face. "What, is that good?" He gestured toward his piece.

Sam glared at him mockingly and was almost tempted to stick out her tongue. "Don't act like you didn't do that on purpose, I've seen you play chess with Daniel," she shot at him.

A slow, devilish smile spread across Jack's face. "You got me."

Sam just shook her head. When she looked up at Jack again, she noticed his smirk had quickly faded and she frowned, brows furrowing. "Colonel?" Her concern grew when she watched him grimace and place a hand over his abdomen.

"I'm fine," he insisted through clenched teeth. Jack tried to breathe slowly in an attempt to control the pain, but it just wasn't enough. After being given more blood, he convinced Janet to ease him off the pain medication slightly to see how he'd do. He certainly wasn't fond of being drugged up to the eyeballs, but right now it seemed as though he could use the good stuff.

"Sir, are you sure you're alright?" Sam persisted with the questioning. He didn't look so good any longer.

"I'm fine," Jack repeated as he bit back a groan.

"Understatement of the century," Sam said quietly under her breath. She carefully rose from the wheelchair and reached for the call button before taking her seat again and grasping Jack's hand. Her heart felt like a battering ram against her ribcage as she looked into his pained brown eyes before they were clenched shut.

Thankful for the reassuring contact, Jack squeezed Sam's hand in return while he fought back a howl of agony as the pain coursed through him.

Janet quickly rushed into the infirmary, her eyes drawn to Sam searchingly before shifting to the obviously uncomfortable O'Neill. "Colonel?" While she grasped his wrist for a pulse, Jack's hold on Sam's hand didn't waver.

Sam pushed the tray with the chess board aside, remaining by the Colonel without getting in Dr. Fraiser's way.

Jack grunted as Janet took the bed controls and made it so he was laying flat. _"Hurts...Doc,"_ he groaned through clenched teeth, eyes mere slits staring up at her concerned face.

"I know sir, I'll take care of that, just hang on," Janet assured him with a gentle pat on the shoulder. She shared a concerned look with Sam before hurrying to the medical cabinet.

With her eyes locked on Jack, Sam suddenly cried out to Janet when he threw his head back and writhed in pain, the agony becoming too much to hold in. "Janet, hurry!" she called again tearfully, hating to see the Colonel in such bad shape.

"I'm giving him a sedative now," the doctor returned, injecting the needle directly into the IV. Janet's eyes flashed to the monitors that showed his quickened heartbeat. She felt a little better as they slowly returned to normal and Jack began to settle while the drugs took effect.

Sam still clung to Jack's hand while Janet set up a morphine drip. His grip had weakened after receiving the drugs, but she kept holding on, silently promising to make sure he remained resting peacefully, no longer taken hold of by the haze of pain.

-


	4. FOUR

**Note: **FINALLY! I've been trying to get this chapter up since Thanksgiving! Oy! FFnet has been giving me guff. Sorry for the long wait folks! Thanks for the reviews, they really make me glad to know people can get entertainment by my writing. :) As for some of the questions asked in the reviews; you'll just have to wait and see. ;) Hope you enjoy this update!

**FOUR**

"Sam?"

The quiet, gentle voice brought Sam to full consciousness as she rubbed hand over her eyes before opening them slowly. She squinted to focus in the dim lighting, peering studiously at the face hovering over her. "Daniel," she whispered, licking her dry lips. Flexing her hands, Sam's eyes widened when she realized she was no longer in contact with the Colonel. Blinking several more times, she sat up carefully with Daniel's help, looking around with confusion at the bed she was laying in. "Daniel, how-?"

He smiled briefly. "You were passed out in the chair by Jack's bed when Teal'c and I came in earlier. Teal'c put you back in bed." Daniel watched Sam's indignant frown, then added, "Janet asked him to."

With a slight nod, Sam turned to look over at Jack, only to find the curtain had been pulled around the bed, blocking her view of him. Her brows furrowed worriedly. "How's the Colonel doing?" she questioned softly.

Daniel crossed his arms and looked directly into Sam's searching blue eyes. He glanced in the direction of Jack's bed. "He's - uh - he's doing alright." Flexing his jaw for a moment, Daniel dropped his gaze and smiled tightly.

"Daniel?" Sam called out questioningly, suspicion in her voice. There was something he wasn't telling her.

Frowning, the archaeologist sighed, once again locking eyes with his concerned friend. "He's hurting. Alot. More than he'll admit." Daniel confessed somberly, walking around Sam's bed and slowly drawing back the curtain that hid Jack from her view at the moment.

"But Janet gave him more pain meds, she-"

"I know," Daniel interrupted, seeing Sam's distress. He sat himself between the two beds to look after each of his friends. Sighing loudly, he ran a hand over his face. "Janet's doing all she can to keep Jack comfortable, but he's gonna be laid up for awhile."

"Daniel," Sam's voice was quiet and hesitant. She released a slow breath, closing her eyes momentarily and chewing her bottom lip. When he looked over at her, she took a deep breath and spoke softly. "I love him," The admission brought shimmering tears to her eyes.

Smiling gently, Daniel got up to sit on the edge of Sam's bed. He hugged her while she leaned her head on his shoulder and sniffled. "I know," he whispered in return.

Sam stared across at Jack while a nurse went over to check his monitors and mop his sweaty brow. She straightened, watching the nurse inject something into his IV line. "What did you give him?" she called out to the retreating nurse, a slight waver to her voice. Sam felt a sudden protectiveness where the Colonel was concerned. She didn't want anymore harm coming to him.

The nurse just smiled back gently. "Just some general antibiotics to prevent any infection from surgery, Major Carter. Dr. Fraiser instructed me to do so," she responded reassuringly before leaving.

Daniel placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "It's okay, they wouldn't do anything to hurt Jack," he said soothingly, feeling her tense. "They're all helping Janet to get him better."

"I know," Sam said hurriedly, finding herself suddenly blinking back tears and covering her face with one hand. "It's just - God, Daniel, I know I shouldn't feel this way about him but I do," She whispered once the nurse had gone, sighing with frustration.

"Hey, hey, _shh_, it's alright," Daniel consoled, rubbing her shoulder. "Sam, you can't help the way you feel, military regulations or no," He gave a friendly smile as she glanced over at him. He didn't speak again until a companionable silence settled between them for several minutes. "He feels the same way about you, you know," Daniel said quietly.

Sam shot him a quizzical look, a bit of disbelief mixed in her eyes. She knew Jack cared for her at one point. During the Zatarc incident things were made clear between the both of them. For some reason Sam thought Jack had possibly gotten over that, even if she hadn't. Maybe she was wrong.

Daniel sent her a knowing smile, laughing quietly. "Yeah, I understand that with Jack it's sometimes hard to tell. But I know him well enough, and I can tell you that he's in love with you Sam. It's been pretty obvious for quite some time now. Ask Teal'c." He smiled a little.

Sighing with exasperation, Sam smiled feebly and ran a hand over her face.

"Janet's still keeping you locked up in here?" Daniel asked lightly, changing the subject easily enough. When she nodded in response, he stood and patted her shoulder. "How 'bout some lunch?"

"Sure," Sam smiled tightly, then Daniel excused himself to smuggle some food out of the commissary and bring it down for her.

-

"You know, we still haven't had an official debriefing since we returned from the mission. I mean, the General looked over my report and everything, but that's about it," Daniel said quietly with a half shrug. After eating lunch, he and Sam had sparked up a conversation about their original mission before it shifted to their capture and return to the SGC.

Sam made a face. "Has the General said anything about a time for the debriefing?" Her voice had become somber as she recalled the events that brought herself and Jack to the infirmary, the brutal beating her CO received making the biggest impact in her recent memories.

"No," Daniel shook his head. "I'm just assuming it'll be once you're discharged from the infirmary, and it'll be a debriefing Jack won't be in attendance for."

Sighing softly, Sam nodded her agreement.

Daniel sat quietly for a little while, watching Sam stare continuously in Jack's direction. He got the distinct feeling that Dr. Fraiser was keeping Sam in the infirmary to have more time with the Colonel. It was doubtful Janet had Sam held up because she was worried about her concussion. _You sneaky little... _Daniel thought to himself with a brief smirk, shaking his head faintly. He looked up, smiling gently at Sam before waving half-heartedly and making an exit. "I'll see you later Sam,"

She turned her attention to him briefly, a tight smile spread across her lips. "Bye Daniel," Sam waved lazily before laying back on her bed and closing her eyes with a heavy sigh.

Sam lost track of time after Daniel left, unsure whether hours or minutes had gone by. She'd laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling without focus or conscious thought for some time. Blinking, Sam breathed in deeply before heaving a loud sigh.

"You sound bored outta your mind,"

The hoarse comment drew the blank-staring Major's attention and she slowly rolled to her side to find a pair of dark brown eyes staring at her. "Jack," Sam released the name with a smile, not even thinking about what she was doing.

He smirked faintly with a bemused expression. "It's _Jack_ now, is it?"

"Sorry," Sam quickly apologized sheepishly. "Colonel," her correction was sharp and formal.

"Nah, it's alright. I'm not exactly in uniform," Jack commented with a smirk, gesturing toward himself. "I give you permission to call me Jack...if you want," he said confidently, softly. "Sam," he added as an after-thought.

She smiled warmly, heart fluttering in her chest. _Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, _Sam chanted several times in her head, trying not to let the affection for her superior officer show.

Suddenly noticing the pleased, appreciative glint in his eye, she found herself blushing faintly under the Colonel's studious gaze. Quickly, Sam covered it up with a smile and slowly sat up so as not to cause her head to ache once more. "Feeling any better sir?" she absently slipped back into the formal, much too used to calling Jack anything other than his first name.

"Meh," Jack rose a hand, waving in a _'so-so' _kind of gesture. He easily accepted his 2IC's tactful change in subject. The pain in his gut had receded mostly, but his ribs ached enough to be an annoyance more than anything. He winced while experimentally placing a hand over his side, recalling the gator-man's thick, reptillian tail making brutal contact with his ribs. "Kinda sore actually," Jack muttered, surprising himself with the admittance.

Shocked that he'd actually answered honestly about how he was feeling, and knowing very well that he hardly ever did that, even with Dr. Fraiser, Sam nodded daftly before tilting her head. "Uh, anything I can get you sir?"

"Nah," Jack waved a hand dismissively, not bothering to correct her still being formal with him. He just smiled to himself, realizing how true that cliche about old habits was.

Sam unconsciously touched the fading bump on the side of her head where she'd been hit, briefly closing her eyes as the memory was recalled in her mind. Everything after she'd been knocked out was a complete blank until she returned to consciousness safe and sound in the SGC medical ward.

Tearing his gaze from Sam for the moment, Jack looked up in time to see Dr. Fraiser casually strolling into the infirmary to check up on her only patients. "Hey Doc," He waved lazily with a half-hearted smile, trying to hide how lousy he still felt.

Janet sent him a nod before making a beeline toward Sam's bed with a plastic cup and some pills. "Here you go Sam, take these for your headache."

"Thanks," Sam adjusted the pillows behind her so it was easier to sit up. She took the pills gratefully. "You know Janet, I'm really feeling alright. I mean, I think I'd be okay to go home," It was definetly not going to be easy convincing the doctor. By experience, Dr. Fraiser wasn't one to let her patients out of her infirmary until _she _deemed them ready.

Giving her patient a considering look, Janet touched her chin thoughtfully with raised brows, then lifted the chart from the end of the bed and glanced at it briefly. "Hm, I'll have to think about that Sam,"

Sighing, but taking it as a good sign, Sam just nodded and rested her head back slowly against the piled-up pillows. "Alright."

"Now, Colonel," Janet began, twirling on her heel to face her next patient after setting down Sam's chart.

Jack rose his brows at her expectantly, an innocent look on his face. "Yeeeeeeees?" He drawled out the word and grinned hopefully.

"Not a chance you're going home by today," Janet said quickly, quashing his thoughts of leaving the infirmary behind. She picked up his chart and scanned it carefully before returning it to it's place at the end of the bed. As Jack frowned grumpily, the doctor moved in on him and checked the IV going into his arm before lifting his shirt. "You need a new sterile dressing," Janet murmured while going over a checklist of procedures in her mind.

Sighing, Jack let his head tilt back and laid there impassively while the doctor went to work. The generally lousy feeling he was experiencing had made concentration difficult, and he wasn't aware that Janet was talking to him directly until her probing fingers hit a particularly sore spot on his bruised side. _"Ow!" _Jack yelped with a grimace, clenching his teeth.

"I'm sorry Colonel," Janet apologized with a sympathetic expression. She sighed softly and eyed Jack steadily. "I asked if you were experiencing pain anywhere else,"

"Yes,_ there_!" He confirmed with a glare, laying a careful, protective hand over his side where she'd poked him.

"I would expect so," The doctor informed him quietly. "These bruises indicate that you've been knocked around pretty good sir,"

"Ya think?!" Jack muttered with a slight frown.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Janet's eyes were soft and gentle, trying to get him to explain what had been done to him. From what Sam had told her, the Colonel had gotten pretty rough treatment from the locals on the planet they visited. "Colonel?"

Sam turned casually to look over at Jack, studying his expression carefully. She wondered if he'd actually tell the doctor what had been done to him when he was taken away by the guard. She knew he'd been beaten, but whether he'd admit to it was another story. And she doubted he'd let them know how badly.

"I got slapped around by a big ugly reptile, you satisfied Doc?" Jack huffed irritably with a frown. He clenched his teeth to fight back the wave of pain that washed over him as his anger at the memory rose to the surface.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Janet laid a consoling hand on his shoulder, trying to prevent Jack from getting more worked up. It didn't take a genius to figure out how upset he was, remembering what he'd been through. She looked over at Sam before smiling tightly at her and closing the curtain around the Colonel's bed to finish changing his bandage.

Taking note of her patient's rise in temperature and increase in blood pressure, Janet took care to watch Jack carefully, thoroughly and discretely checking him over while she applied antiseptic and a fresh dressing to his surgical incision. Satisfied there was no infection, especially since she'd been keeping Jack on antibiotics to make sure of that, Dr. Fraiser was slightly concerned that he wasn't faring as well as she thought he should be.

_"Doc,"_ Jack suddenly croaked in a weak voice that surprised even him. He cleared his throat carefully before speaking again. "How long before I can go home?"

Janet smiled at him sympathetically as she tugged his shirt down over the new bandage and adjusted the monitors sticking to his chest. "Relax Colonel, you've only been here for two days," she told him, purposely not answering the question at hand. Knowing that he had a long recovery ahead of him certainly wouldn't help any.

Although she was closed off from seeing Jack, Sam heard everything that had been said. She frowned to herself, aware of how annoyed Jack would be that he was to be confined to the infirmary for longer than he'd anticipated.

"Hmph," Jack scoffed. "Two days is long enough," he muttered under his breath.

"Sir, your surgery was _yesterday_," Janet emphasized, getting slightly exasperated. "You can't expect me to release you so soon."

"So send me home, then you can check up on me if it'll make ya feel better," Jack suggested, hoping to win her over, even though deep down he knew the battle was futile. It just wasn't in character for him to give up without bugging the good doctor. And if he stopped pestering her, he knew she'd see that something was wrong. Jack knew damned well that he wasn't up to leaving the infirmary anytime soon.

Dr. Fraiser smiled to herself and turned away, shaking her head and pulling back the curtain. The man was incorrigible. "Get some rest Colonel, that's an order."

-

Papers shuffled effortlessly in Daniel's hands as he made his way to General Hammond's office with the research he'd done for P8Y-974, the planet where they'd been abducted by the _'manimals'_ as he decided to call them. He was eager to share his ideas and knowledge with the General, hoping to find some explanation as to why he and the rest of SG-1 had been chosen for capture. What interested the archaeologist even more, was discovering anything about the former humans that no-doubt inhabited the planet. Despite what had happened during their mission, Daniel was surprisingly eager to visit once more, although if the General even authorized another mission, he knew they would have to take precautions, now more-so than ever.

Hoping that it wasn't too early to be bothering Hammond, since he normally had quite the schedule in the morning, Daniel knocked on the office door, papers tucked safely under one arm. Stifling a yawn, he blinked furiously to ward off the fatigue from being up all night doing research. He sure hoped the General had some coffee in there.

-

"O'Neill," the low-pitched, deep baritone voice woke Jack from his fitful slumber late that morning. Teal'c's expression was one of slight concern, much more than he'd normally be willing to show.

"Whu?" Jack murmured sleepily in a hoarse voice, fighting to focus on the large Jaffa hovering over him.

"You were struggling in your sleep O'Neill, I did not want you to damage yourself," Teal'c explained to the groggy Colonel.

Blinking, Jack turned his head to the left where Sam's bed was, his brows furrowing when he noticed she wasn't there. The bed was neatly made with new blankets perfectly pressed and undisturbed. "Where's Carter?" He took a slow breath, his first conscious thoughts focused on Sam.

Teal'c let a faint, smug grin show. The Jaffa was always secretly amused whenever Colonel O'Neill or Major Carter allowed their defenses to fold, showing how they truly cared for one another. Those moments seemed few and far between. "Dr. Fraiser had discharged Major Carter from the infirmary early this morning."

Jack seemed to smile a bit. "Ah, the Doc finally gave in huh?" He smirked half-heartedly, inwardly a little sad that he'd no longer be sharing the infirmary with his favorite astrophysicist.

"Indeed," Teal'c dipped his head with a slight nod of assent. With subtly furrowed brows, the Jaffa carefully studied the man he proudly considered a brother. The Colonel was pale, a sheen of sweat clear on his face, eyes glazed and tired. "Are you not well O'Neill?" He questioned his leader with concern.

Closing his eyes slowly, Jack let the facade slip, too tired to pretend he was fine any longer. He'd been acting as though nothing was wrong, despite his insomnia all night due to the uncomfortable pains in his body. "No T, I'm not," Jack admitted quietly, letting his head drop back as visible lines of pain spread across his face.

Alarmed by the admission, Teal'c gave a nod of acknowledgement and left to retrieve Dr. Fraiser without saying anything.

Jack already knew where his buddy was headed, but he didn't care. At the moment he could go for some of the Doc's magic pills, and while he thought about it briefly, a little TLC from Sam wouldn't hurt. He laid there, closing his eyes and hoping for some relief to come soon.

Keeping a calm composure, Janet entered the infirmary on swift feet, Teal'c on her heels. Closing in on the Colonel's bed, it was obvious to her that his condition was deteriorating. He had seemed a little off the previous night, but his health just seemed to be getting worse instead of better, as it should be. Janet was becoming concerned that there was something very wrong.

Feeling very lethargic, Jack let his head droop to one side, keeping his eyes closed while Janet placed one of the pulse/ox monitors on his finger.

"Colonel?" Janet called out to him in a questioning, uneasy tone. She touched his face gently with the back of her hand, trying to get him to respond.

_"Not feelin'..so hot...Doc," _Jack murmured weakly without opening his eyes.

It was obvious to Janet how ill he really was just by the simple admittance. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Teal'c hovering by the side of the Colonel's bed, and noticed the disquietude just by the Jaffa's posture. The warrior's eyes were firmly fixed onto his surrogate brother.

Laying a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder, Janet sent him a sympathetic smile when he made the effort to lift his heavy lids. "I'm going to run some tests, alright? We'll find out what's going on so you can get better,"

_"Sure," _Jack gave a feeble, half-hearted grin before sighing softly and closing his eyes once more. The next thing he was aware of was the blaring sound of the klaxons going off, announcing an incoming wormhole. Not paying any mind to it, since it was probably just one of the SG teams returning, Jack let himself drift off to sleep in hopes of satisfying his exhausted, aching body.

-


	5. FIVE

**FIVE**

"Hi Dad," Sam greeted her father, Jacob Carter, with a hug as he strolled out of the wormhole and down the gate ramp towards her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and allowed him to hold her for awhile, having missed him since he'd been unable to visit Earth for awhile due to business with the Tok'ra.

"It's good to see you Jacob," General Hammond greeted his old friend with a kind voice and smile.

Removing himself slowly from his daughter's embrace, Jacob smiled with a slight nod before shaking the General's hand. "Likewise George," He grinned as Hammond waved them out of the gate room.

"Let's go to my office," The General suggested, leading the way and gesturing for Major Carter to join them.

-

"Janet?" Sam stepped into the infirmary with her father, looking for the doctor. It was SOP for anyone coming through the gate to get a routine check-up, and Jacob insisted getting it over with so he'd have time to spend with his daughter. However, Sam was concerned to find Janet busily working around Jack with some of her nursing staff. More tubes and wires were sticking out of the Colonel than she rememebered, and it caused an icy shell to form around her heart as fear gripped her. "Janet, what's going on?" Sam failed to hide the waver in her voice.

"I'm afraid Colonel O'Neill's not doing very well Sam," Janet told her somberly as she adjusted an oxygen mask over Jack's sweaty face. "I've been running tests but I can't seem to find out what's wrong," She frowned helplessly, a hopeless look in her dark eyes. "He hasn't got another bleed anywhere, but he's just getting worse,"

The expression on Janet's face shook Sam to her very core. It was like she'd completely given up hope. Gripping her father's arm for comfort, she turned to look at him with pleading, tear-glazed eyes. "Is there something the Tok'ra can do Dad? ...Please,"

Jacob looked into his daughter's glistening baby-blues and it just broke his heart. He could see straight away just how much she loved the man lying sick as a dog on the infirmary bed. Jack was a friend as well, almost like another son. He had to do something for him. "Still have that healing device?"

Sam's eyes widened with new-found hope. She turned to the doctor. "Janet, what do you think?"

"Well, with the General's permission-"

"Granted," came a confident and commanding voice.

All eyes shifted to the doorway. General George Hammond stood with a solemn gaze drifting over his Second in Command.

"I want you to know that I may not be able to heal him completely," Jacob spoke up, trying not to get their hopes too high. He'd do what he could to help Jack, but the Goa'uld healing device was no sarcophagus by any means and couldn't quite work miracles of that magnitude.

"Understood Jacob. Do what you can," Hammond nodded toward his old friend, then looked between Janet and Sam before leaving to retrieve the device from lock-up.

While the others momentarily left the room to discuss some things, Sam sidled up to Jack's bed and took his hand that was free of IV needles and other medical doohickeys. Smiling warmly, though her eyes showed the overwhelming anxiety she was feeling, Sam lightly stroked his hand in hers. "Hey former roommate," she greeted gently in what she hoped was a somewhat-cheerful tone.

Jack's eyelids dragged open slowly, a weak smirk spreading across his face. _"Hey," _His voice was quiet and muffled beneath the oxygen mask, but he made no move to pull it away.

Sam struggled to keep her emotions in check while his eyes were locked onto hers. All she wanted to do was lay her head on his chest to make sure his heart kept beating. It was obvious that Jack was a very sick man, and if the Goa'uld device didn't help him, Sam was certain he wouldn't be with her much longer, and that scared her to death.

"Dad's here, and he's going to use the healing device on you to help," Sam explained, struggling to keep her tone painfully neutral while she still held his hand. Noticing the deep furrow between Jack's brows, she smiled sadly. "You're very sick Colonel, and Janet doesn't know what's wrong. She's been doing all she can, running tests, using different medications and all..." she sighed softly. "Nothing's helping sir," Sam eyed him steadily, trying to detect his thoughts on the idea of using Goa'uld technology on him. "Are you alright with that Colonel? If my Dad uses the healing device on you?"

Nodding slightly in assent, Jack breathed slowly and allowed his eyes to close for a long moment. _"Sure Carter," _It seemed awhile before he found the strength to speak again. _"Tell..Jacob...thanks," _

"Think nothing of it Jack," Jacob said in a cheerful tone as he stepped into the infirmary with the healing device, followed by Dr. Fraiser, General Hammond, Daniel, and even Teal'c. All were clearly worried about the stubborn Colonel that was obviously very ill. When Jacob moved closer to stand at the side of Jack's bed, he settled the Goa'uld device on his hand and lowered his head, relinquishing control to his symbiote, the Tok'ra, Selmak. **"As Jacob has already forewarned, I'd like to reiterate that this may not be efficient enough to heal Colonel O'Neill completely," **the deep voice of the Tok'ra boomed while his sympathetic gaze drifted around the room, resting briefly on each of Jack's friends.

"We understand," General Hammond spoke up, his face expressionless, voice neutral. Only the General's slight shift in posture hinted at the emotions the man was keeping in check. He knew he had to be strong for the others. It was his duty, his job as their Commanding Officer, and head of the SGC.

Janet noticed the steady beeps of the heart monitor were increasing and becoming slightly erratic as the seconds passed. She shot a look toward the Tok'ra with a steady nod, urging him to go ahead.

Selmak reached over Jack's body as the monitors began going haywire, signaling a rapid decline in his health. The Tok'ra closed his eyes, bowing his head slightly in concentration. A bright orange glow errupted from the hand device as it was activated.

Jack's chest rose steadily as he breathed in deep, the power of the Goa'uld device already helping. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be unconscious, the erratic beeps of the monitors settling back to the normal rhythm they once held before.

The glow of the healing device soon faded, and Selmak rose his head, letting his host be in control once more. Jacob now drew back the device and lowered his hands, turning to the others in the room. "We've done all we could. He's better, but we can't yet be sure if he's been completely healed." With sympathy in his eyes, Jacob looked to his daughter briefly. He saw the desperation in her eyes and knew that she needed Jack to be alright.

"Thank you Jacob," Hammond thanked his old friend with a firm handshake and a nod, gratefulness clear in his wise blue eyes.

Returning the handshake and smiling tightly, Jacob shared a brief look with his daughter once more before leaving the infirmary with the General.

Janet quickly checked the monitors before speaking to the remaining three in the room; Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c. "I'm sure the Colonel will be out of it for awhile. He needs to rest." She smiled gently as both Daniel and Teal'c gave their reluctant nods. It was obvious that Sam was more than a little reluctant to leave Jack's side.

Daniel and Teal'c's concerned gazes lingered momentarily on their unconscious friend, hopeful and confident that he had been healed. They left slowly, one after the other, each promising to return later.

With both men gone, Janet moved beside Sam and laid a consoling hand on her shoulder. "How's your head?" She asked casually, taking her friend's focus off Jack for the moment.

Barely remembering about her own injury, Sam released a quiet sigh and smiled wearily. "It's fine."

"Anymore headaches? Dizziness?" Janet prompted when Sam turned to face her.

"Only if I get up too fast after laying down or sitting for awhile, but not bad," Sam assured her. A quiet moment passed between the two, and she sighed, running a hand through her hair, feeling useless and worn out.

Janet looked at her with a concerned, doctorly gaze. "Sam, I want you to go get some rest okay?"

Glaring with mock-anger, Sam gave the doctor a look before dropping her head and smiling slightly with a slow shake of her head. "General Hammond's finally scheduled the debriefing. It starts at 1400."

Glancing sideways to find the clock, Janet then swung her gaze back around at Sam. She smirked slightly. "That gives you two and a half hours to get some sleep." With a light smile, she tugged on Sam's arm and gave her a friendly shove toward the door. "Go on now Major, that's an order,"

Sighing heavily, Sam gave in, knowing she had no other choice. "Yes Ma'am," she mumbled, skulking slowly out of the infirmary.

-

Finding herself only able to sleep for a mere forty-five minutes, Sam had laid awake in her on-base quarters, letting her mind wander. When it came to be time for the long overdue debriefing, she was surprised to find her father in attendance. Giving him a quizzical look, she rose an eyebrow dubiously.

Sensing her confusion, General Hammond spoke up. "Jacob is joining us in this debriefing because Selmak has information regarding the aliens on P8Y-974, thanks to some of the research Dr. Jackson has provided, as well as his theories."

"Theories?" Sam questioned interestedly while she took a seat beside Daniel and across from her father.

"Uh, yeah, I discovered several bits of research that possibly point out that humans originally from Earth once occupied P8Y-974. There were several artifacts and clues suggesting that these humans were taken over and destroyed by the dominating alien species." Daniel explained energetically.

**"Well, you are partially correct Dr. Jackson," **Selmak took control, the deep alien voice emanating from Jacob Carter, **"However, the aliens you encountered did not destroy the humans once occupying the planet," **he continued with a dramatic pause, ready to gauge everyone's reactions. **"They _are _the humans."**

Daniel and Sam's mouths both gaped open slightly while Teal'c slowly rose an eyebrow in interest, and General Hammond's eyes widened.

"What are you saying?" Hammond was the first to break the tense silence.

Bowing his head momentarily, Jacob then rose his chin, his own voice coming from his mouth while his symbiote took a back seat. "It appears that the Goa'uld were the dominating species on the planet that destroyed the original humans. But they didn't exactly destroy them. Instead, they experimented upon them, merging them with other mammals inhabiting the planet at the time, many, many years ago. The original humans weren't brought there by the Goa'uld, they were descendants from the Ancients, transported to P8Y-974 by the Asgard for protection. The Asgard hadn't known of the Goa'ulds presence on that planet at the time and therefore thought the humans would be safe."

Daniel held a contemplative expression for a long while before voicing his thoughts. "But why would they capture us? It just doesn't make sense." He leaned against the table.

"Maybe by capturing us, they were trying to find a way to return themselves to normal?" Sam threw out the suggestion with a partial shrug.

"Perhaps they planned to experiment upon us after simply observing our behaviors to discover whether we were truly like they once were." Teal'c spoke for the first time since the debriefing began.

"I agree," Jacob nodded, folding his hands on the table in front of him. "I'm just wondering why the Goa'uld decided to leave them alone when they could have possibly proven to be strong, capable hosts in their altered states."

Teal'c's brows furrowed momentarily "Perhaps their altered physiology was not compatible with that of the Goa'uld."

"Wouldn't the Goa'uld have more than likely destroyed them then?" Sam guessed out loud, trying to understand the situation.

Daniel turned in his chair to face General Hammond. "Another visit to the planet may be necessary General. It could be very important for us to find out why the Goa'uld didn't just kill all the aliens off. Recon mission sir?"

With a reluctant sigh, the General nodded, knowing how right Dr. Jackson was. He looked over at Jacob. "I'll need all the intel the Tok'ra can provide before sending any teams on this mission,"

Jacob nodded willingly, then sent a cautious sideways glance Sam's way. He could tell she was still unsettled at the reminder of what had happened on that planet, and that she was still worried about Colonel O'Neill.

-

Uncomfortable and groggy, Jack fought his way to consciousness with slowly fluttering eyelids. A voice nearby caught his attention, but the only thing dancing within his vision was blurred images in dark shades of grey. The last thing he remembered was feeling pain, and blearily noticing Jacob hovering over him with one of those Goa'uld doohickeys that glowed orange.

"Colonel? Can you hear me?" Sam's gentle voice trailed off sadly, her words breaking up as he failed to respond, only managing to look terribly confused. _"Jack,"_ she whispered his name desperately, thankful that no one else was around to hear her being so informal with him. Reaching out hesitantly, she grasped his hand and squeezed it urgently in her own. _"Jack, please,"_

"Yeah...I'm here," he whispered hoarsely, eyes still glazed though he seemed to be trying to focus. Jack squeezed Sam's hand in return as a sign of reassurance.

She smiled, eyes glassy with unshed tears of sudden relief. Sam's expression quickly changed to concern, her brows knitting together as she regarded him carefully. "Feeling okay?"

"Yeah...actually," Jack answered quietly with a satisfied grin.

Standing slowly, Sam released his hand that she hadn't been aware she was still holding. Smiling warmly at him, she glanced back toward the door. "I'll go let Janet know you're awake, sir,"

Jack simply blinked in response, still feeling rather drained. He let his eyes linger closed once more as Sam left to retrieve the doctor, who would undoubtedly want to run some tests, or atleast give him the once-over. Before he knew it, Janet's voice was calling out to him. Jack's eyes snapped open as he jerked to full alertness, blinking rapidly and wondering if he'd accidently dozed off in the short time it took for Sam to bring Dr. Fraiser into the infirmary.

"Colonel," Janet smiled warmly, delighted to see him awake. The color had returned to his face, and he appeared much more lively, despite seeming a bit tired. "Sam tells me you're feeling better," Her eyes drifted over the monitor screens, taking in every detail, every change in the readings from earlier. "Your stats are nearly back to normal," the doctor remarked gladly.

Grinning, Jack slowly sat up, fighting back the sudden wave of dizziness and trying not to let it show. Carefully, he swung his long legs over the side of the bed, mindful of Dr. Fraiser's watchful eye. He was thankfully aware he had scrubs bottoms on instead of the usual revealing gown, but his chest was bare, only covered by monitor wires and bandages.

"Colonel," the doctor warned with a mild glare. "Lay back so I can examine you."

Grunting with a reluctant sigh, Jack did as he was told and laid back, arms resting at either side of him. "I'm all yours Doc," He decided just to humor the woman, hoping that she'd leave him alone once she was satisfied his health was no longer at risk.

Sam saw Janet roll her eyes, and she quirked a small smile. She watched the doctor go about removing the bandage over the Colonel's abdomen, aware that the dark bruising which once clearly marked his torso had completely disappeared.

Brows furrowing in concentration, Janet was amazed to find not even a faint scar from surgery left on Colonel O'Neill's flesh. Her fingers gently probed, her eyes fixed on Jack's face, searching for any signs of discomfort caused by her actions. "Any pain at all?"

"Nope," Jack grinned victoriously. She'd certainly have to release him from the infirmary since he was perfectly healthy now.

Briefly, Janet shared a glance with Sam before focusing on her patient once more. "I'd like to perform an MRI just to be sure your internal organs are all undamaged."

Sighing heavily, Jack groaned in protest. "C'mon Doc, I'm fine!" He glared fiercely, but the small woman was unaffected.

"Doesn't matter," Janet shook her head at him, smiling ruefully. "Until the results come back, you're not going anywhere," Her gaze shifted to Sam. "After a few tests I'm putting you in charge of looking after him while I go over everything," She smiled, hiding a smirk, though her dark eyes twinkled mischievously.

Jack sat back and stilled, trying to hide a faint grin. _Atleast I'll get **something **outta this,_ he thought, now smirking openly. Any time given to be around Sam more was well worth it. In the past few days he'd felt the urge to be closer to her both physically and emotionally, more than usual.

Sam smiled slightly, dropping her chin to try and hide the flushing of her cheeks.

"Well, Colonel," Janet pressed her hand to Jack's forehead before flashing a penlight in each of his eyes as she spoke, "You haven't had anything in your stomach for a while now, what do you think about getting something to eat?"

"Hm," Jack grinned, thinking for a moment. Then his stomach growled, answering the question for him. "I think that sounds like a good idea,"

"Okay," Janet nodded to him with a slight smile. "But _after _the tests. I'll have Teal'c or Daniel bring something down for you."

Jack groaned, but otherwise gave up complaining. He sighed, giving in to Dr. Fraiser's wishes and deciding to be compliant while she ran a few tests.

-


	6. SIX

**Note: **Thanks to those of you that reviewed the last chapter. :) Anyways, this chapter will delve deeper into what happened on the planet with the beasties. Might even answer a few questions if not raise more. ::smirks::

**SIX**

While Janet worked on checking test results, Sam sat in the infirmary keeping an eye on Jack. She perched on the edge of a nearby bed while he dug into a plate of food hungrily. "Might wanna take it slow Colonel, you really haven't eaten anything in awhile," she warned worriedly.

Jack's eyes rose from his plate briefly. "Yeah, I know, but I'm hungry," He shoveled some buttered corn into his mouth before stabbing his fork into the bland, commissary-made roast beef. It was lousy food, but he didn't care, he was starved.

Sam couldn't help but smile. He looked at her with an adorable grin that just melted her heart, and she forced herself to stare at the floor, thinking of other things. She'd finally built up the courage to tell Jack about the debriefing, and the General's plans to send another team to P8Y-974, and to her surprise, he didn't say much about it. It was the first thing she spoke about before Daniel arrived with Jack's food. Since then, neither one of them brought the subject back up.

When he was finished eating, Jack shoved the tray aside, out of the way, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed so that he was facing Sam. "So, Carter," he began, making idle chit-chat in his boredom. "How's Dad?" He cocked his head to the side and smiled broadly. "I didn't get to say much before..." Jack waved his hand in a vague gesture and shrugged. "Well, you know."

Sam nodded with understanding. She lowered her eyes for a moment, not wanting to think about the Colonel almost dying. "He's good," she looked up at Jack again and returned his smile with a warm one of her own. "He actually stopped by just for a visit, but winded up being able to help us out. In more ways than one," she added, not wanting to remind him about the upcoming mission back to P8Y-974 again.

"Colonel," Janet called out, returning to the infirmary. She smiled as Jack looked up at her. "Your test results all came back fine. You're free to leave the infirmary."

"Great," Jack grinned and hopped off the bed, then reached out with his arms and stretched his lanky frame. He'd been confined to the infirmary for almost a full three days now, and he was more than happy to leave, with his health intact as well.

Sam glanced briefly at Janet before following him out. She'd tailed Jack down the hallway and around several turns before he stopped and turned to face her.

"Carter, Doc says I'm fine, you don't gotta follow me around ya know," he said with an amused smirk. Not that Jack didn't enjoy being around her so much, but he would have liked a little time to himself at the moment. There was much to think about, especially the upcoming mission, something he had to discuss with the General. There was no way he was sending anyone but SG-1 back to P8Y-974.

Smiling almost sheepishly at Jack, Sam caught up to him with an easy stride. "I know that sir," She ducked her head slightly and peered up through her eyelashes. "I was just...a little worried about you Colonel," Sam admitted quietly.

A slow grin spread across Jack's face as he turned to his side to look at her. "Thanks, but I'm okay Carter, really." He looked down at himself, feeling a sudden chill, and realized he still wasn't wearing a shirt. "I could just use a shower, change of clothes, and a little nap," Blinking, Jack released a loud yawn and tilted his head to the side before turning and continuing on his way down the corridor. As he walked he stretched out an arm in a wave back to Sam. "I'll see you in a bit."

-

Around 1900 hours, Sam found that her eyes ached terribly with the strain of staring at her computer screen for so long. Closing her eyes tightly and rubbing at them, she pushed away from her desk slowly after turning off her laptop. She knew Janet would give her a talking to after she'd warned Sam about over-doing it. Now her head hurt again and she was tired.

Reaching for the pill bottle across the desk, Sam popped a few aspirins in her mouth before yawning softly and stretching. Her brows furrowed faintly in thought when she realized that she hadn't seen Colonel O'Neill since he left the infirmary, and she felt like she was missing something. Closing her eyes as she stood in her lab doorway, Sam bowed her head and realized that it was Jack she felt like she was missing. Ever since she'd been discharged from the infirmary she noticed how much she had liked being around him all that time. It frightened her a little.

Sam suddenly remembered how she'd confessed her feelings for her CO to Daniel. She realized he would never say anything to Jack, but she also knew that things would probably boil down to a point where she'd need to tell the Colonel on her own, no matter what the cost. Thinking about Jack made her feel like she needed to check up on him, so she took a little detour from her lab and decided to pass on by his quarters, knowing that both Dr. Fraiser and General Hammond were keeping him on base.

When she'd reached the Colonel's quarters, Sam knocked lightly a few times, then stood silent, awaiting some kind of response. Not getting anything from inside, she took that as a sign that he was deeply asleep, then carefully opened the door and peered into the dimly lit room. She spotted Jack curled up on the cot against the wall and sleeping soundly. He was dressed in a standard-issue black t-shirt with olive BDU pants, his hair sticking up and out at odd angles. Smiling widely, all Sam could think of was just how adorable the Colonel looked at that moment.

Daring to move over by the cot, Sam bent down and picked up the plain grey blanket that had fallen. She draped it over her Colonel's sleeping form, then sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed. Surprising even herself with that action, Sam felt her heart speeding up anxiously as Jack shifted on the bed, seemingly aware of her presense. Although she wanted to flee, she managed to suppress the urge and stood her ground, even as confused brown eyes fluttered open to peer at her.

"Carter?" Jack mumbled softly, closing one eye and squinting with the other. He twisted slightly on the cot so that he was half rolled onto his back, making it easier to look up at her.

Sam grimaced before smiling sheepishly, thankful for the dim lighting, fearing otherwise the Colonel would see her blushing. "Sorry sir, I uh... I just came to check up on you," she blurted hurriedly before springing to her feet and startling him.

"Have I been asleep that long?" He asked groggily, not yet responding to her abrupt motion of leaping away from him.

"It's been a few hours...sir," Sam rocked back and forth on her heels somewhat nervously. _God, why am I being like this around him? _She thought, mentally berating herself for the uncharacteristic behavior.

"Oh," Jack nodded slightly with acknowledgment, not making a move to get up. He yawned, slightly alarmed that he still felt so incredibly exhausted. Blearily noticing Sam backing toward the door, he shifted completely onto his back once more. "I'm goin' back to sleep Carter," he declared softly in a mumbled, sleepy voice.

Sam smiled tightly and nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'll leave you alone then, sir." She found herself saying the words, but her actions were another thing altogether. Instead, she closed the door against the intruding light from the corridor and moved toward the bed where Jack lay, gingerly sitting down by his feet and leaning her back against the wall. She stayed there, just watching over him like a guardian angel.

Jack was already fast asleep once more and hadn't even noticed that Sam didn't leave.

-

Seeking out his friends that night, Daniel paused in the corridor just outside Jack's quarters after having recently stopped at Sam's lab to realize she wasn't there. He guessed she'd gone home to rest properly. Even though he promised himself he'd go home for the night, Daniel realized he wouldn't get much sleep, thinking too much about what information Jacob would bring back from the Tok'ra. Instead, he figured he'd probably end up passing out at his desk.

Through with debating whether or not to bother Jack by knocking, Daniel tapped very lightly on the door to his quarters before opening it slowly and sticking his head inside. His eyes widened briefly, and a slow grin spread across his face when he spotted Sam sleeping soundly at the end of the small cot where Jack was curled up, snoring lightly. With a satisfied nod, he carefully backed out of the room and closed the door to let them be.

-

While shifting languidly in position and attempting to stretch his longs legs, Jack found his movements halting as his feet nudged something at the end of his cot. Brows furrowing in confusion, he opened his eyes, craning his neck and peering groggily toward the end of the bed. Jack found himself smiling when he realized that it was Sam sitting by his feet, her legs drawn up, arms and head resting on her knees. He sat up slowly, leaning his back against the wall so that he was side by side with her. Carefully, Jack reached his arm around her shoulders, nudging her gently in attempt to maneuver her to a more comfortable position.

Sam responded to the gentle movements in her sleep, allowing herself to lay on her side, resting her head on Jack's lap.

Pulling up the blanket and covering her, Jack rested his hand on Sam's shoulder and stroked her arm tenderly. He cared for her deeply, and although he knew that if anyone walked in his quarters to find them in the seemingly-compromising position, he'd very well be facing a court martial and a possible dishonorable discharge from the Air Force. At that moment though, Jack didn't care. He had Sam in his arms, and that was all that mattered.

Opening her eyes slowly, Sam gasped when she realized where she was. She nearly jerked upright until she was stilled by a comforting voice and gentle hand pressing lightly on her shoulder in reassurance, to keep her in place. "Colonel?" Sam whispered unsurely, her cheeks warming with embarrassment.

"Shh, it's okay Sam," Jack whispered gently, now stroking her hair in a loving gesture that answered so much of Sam's own questions and concerns about their current situation. "Go back to sleep,"

Heaving a sigh of relief, she did just that, drifting off again to dream peacefully in the arms of the man she loved.

-

It was barely a day later that SG-1 was preparing to gate back to P8Y-974 after Colonel O'Neill had managed to convince General Hammond that they were the only team for the task at hand. Hammond had been a bit reluctant, but felt more at ease when former General Jacob Carter-turned Tok'ra, had insisted upon joining SG-1, taking with him the gathered knowledge about the planet's strange inhabitants.

Jack was raring to go, anxious for another stab at those so-called 'natives' that had captured them. He stood with his team, plus Jacob, on the gate ramp, all dressed in woodland camo BDUs and staring ahead at the shimmering water-like matter within the big metal circle. "Alright kids, let's move out!" He shouted after getting the go ahead from General Hammond. Waving his team forward, Jack fell into step just behind Sam after Teal'c, Daniel, and Jacob entered the wormhole.

Emerging from the gate on the other side, Teal'c and Jacob immediately took up defensive positions before Daniel, Jack, and Sam had even come through. Their trained eyes each took a sweep of the area surrounding the gate, weapons poised and ready for action. Neither man even turned as they heard the others exiting the wormhole before it was closed off.

Jack aimed his P90 and briefly scanned his surroundings before relaying orders. "Teal'c, Carter, scout ahead for any of the natives. Jacob, you and I are gonna stay by the gate," he turned to the team's archaeologist-linguist-anthropologist. "Daniel, dial home and send the MALP back."

Nodding quickly in affirmation, Daniel hurried toward the MALP and checked it over before dialling up the gate.

Jacob and Jack took up their positions on either side of the gate while Teal'c and Sam left to check for hostiles.

A few minutes went by after the MALP had been sent back to Earth before Jack reached for the radio on his vest. "Carter, Teal'c, come in." He stilled, keeping a look-out while waiting for a response.

_"Carter here," _Sam's voice came back shortly. _"Teal'c and I haven't spotted anything sir,"_

With a suspicious sigh, Jack nodded before toggling his radio again. "Alright, come on back, but stay sharp. We were ambushed the first time, remember?"

_"Yes sir. Carter out." _

The team, with Jacob, gathered by the DHD after Sam and Teal'c had returned from their brief scouting mission. They were currently discussing a means in which they should go about trying to get the information they seeked on the natives. Getting captured certainly wasn't an answer; once was more than enough.

Daniel crossed his arms, pacing in deep thought. He glanced over toward his teammates. "Well, the first time we came here we got ambushed and knocked out, so therefore we didn't actually _see _where we were taken. So that doesn't really give us any clues as to which direction we need to be going in."

"Yeah," Jack nodded in acknowledgement. "And that means the village - or whatever - could be just through the trees...or it could be fifty miles away," he muttered slightly in frustration.

Teal'c's gaze was fixed to the ground for a long moment, and everyone turned to him.

"T?" Jack prompted.

"There is a slight imprint in the ground here O'Neill," the Jaffa warrior answered stoically.

"Tracks," Jacob confirmed, now noticing them as well. He nodded. "They're faint, but we should still be able to atleast find out which direction they lead."

Jack knelt down and eyed the imprints in the dirt, recognizing them as some sort of transportation rather than footprints. "Alright then, let's head out!" He strode off determinedly, taking point. "Keep your eyes open people. Teal'c, you've got our six."

Falling into step behind Jacob, Teal'c held out his zat gun and made sure to take in their surroundings while they moved.

The forest was dense and almost swamp-like, creating a humid atmosphere, unlike the immediate area surrounding the gate, which was an open grassy field in what appeared to be a large circle. SG-1 trudged through the dense forest in the general direction of the tracks they'd encountered, but didn't see any further signs of civilization.

Almost two hours later, O'Neill stopped and looked around suspiciously as they neared a large clearing that opened up to a low, idustrial-looking building that appeared as though it was mainly underground. The walls looked cracked and dirty, vines crawling up along the outside and making it seem abandoned. Whether it was really old or the damage was intentional as a front was anyone's guess, but this certainly wasn't the prison complex they'd remembered escaping from. Jack guessed that particular place must have been on the opposite side of the Stargate, since they'd approached the gate from the west on their way home, and were now heading east. He wondered if the buildings were somehow connected through tunneling underground. If it turned out to be true, it wouldn't surprise him.

Jack turned to Jacob with a raised eyebrow. "So Jacob," He began in a light, almost-flippant, tone. "Mind telling us what you know about these critter-people before we find ourselves in the lion's den once more?"

Ignoring the deliberate pun on the Colonel's part, Jacob crouched down and motioned for the others to do the same. He'd already explained what he knew to the General beforehand, but the mission briefing had been short and he hadn't gotten a chance to reveal everything to the team. It was just enough to let them know that this was an important mission. Jacob sighed as Sam, Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c all gathered around him. "As you already figured out, the natives of this planet were genetically transformed by the Goa'uld, and at the mission briefing I explained that they were still in league with the Goa'uld, even though they haven't been taken as hosts due to their unique, and incompatible physiology."

Jack's eyebrow rose slowly, expectantly as Jacob took a long pause. "And, but, so, therefore?" He prompted impatiently. They were wasting time here.

Glaring briefly, Jacob took a deep breath and continued. "These..._manimals_," he used the term Daniel had chosen to call the natives, "are voluntary servants to the Goa'uld. They're given stolen weapons and technology for capturing possible hosts for the Goa'uld and serving as warriors when they're needed."

Daniel shook his head in disbelief. "Wait-a-sec," He waved a hand in the air and briefly closed his eyes. "That doesn't make sense. Why would the Goa'uld use them when they've already got plenty of Jaffa warriors to serve their needs?"

"Yeah!" Jack piped up unnecessarily.

"The Goa'uld do it as a sort of insurance. They know that these manimals have the potential to become much more powerful than the Goa'uld themselves, especially since they were originally human and can't be taken as hosts." Jacob said.

Sam's brows furrowed in thought. "Then why don't the Goa'uld just destroy them before they get too powerful?"

"Selmak and the other Tok'ra aren't really sure on that. We think that the Goa'uld are hoping these manimals will find some way to destroy us that they couldn't think of. Either that or some new weapons that would prove useful." Jacob shrugged.

"So," Jack added, rubbing at the back of his neck and squinting with mild confusion. "The snake heads figure the critter people are too valuable to get rid of, _and _too dangerous to keep around, so..." He blinked and rubbed at his forehead from the confusion he caused himself. "Wait, what?"

"That's right sir," Sam encouraged with a small smile. "So the Goa'uld are keeping them on a short leash, right Dad?"

"As far as I can figure," Jacob nodded. "You see, the Goa'uld haven't given them any information on how to use the gate, so they have no clue."

Teal'c added his input for the first time. "It sounds as though the Goa'uld are using their own mistake to their advantage."

"By creating this race that can't be taken as hosts, the Goa'uld use what the manimals learn from their own stolen technology, then take it from _them _when they deem it useful," Daniel spoke his thoughts without fully understanding what he was even saying.

"Right." Jacob shifted and stood after seeing Jack get to his feet, the others following their examples.

"These guys captured us to trade the Goa'uld for more weapons?" Jack questioned while taking the little scope from his vest pocket and peering toward the industrial building in the distance.

"Something like that," Jacob muttered quietly, then added, "But I think there's another reason we just haven't figured out yet."

The grim admission made Sam a little uneasy. "We also don't know which System Lord they're 'trading' with."

"Could be a minor Goa'uld, not a System Lord," Daniel suggested softly.

Sam grimaced. "Does that make you feel any better?"

Daniel sighed, then crept out from the thick trees as Jack began to lead the way out toward the clearing. "No, guess not."

-

**Note: **Please review:)


	7. SEVEN

**SEVEN**

After carefully checking the perimeter of the building, Jack led his team and Jacob stealthily toward their goal without being noticed. He was curious as to why there didn't appear to be any guards around or anything, but once they'd more closely examined the outside of the complex, the team discovered it seemed to have been abandoned. Atleast mostly anyways. There were a few traces that some possible vagrants had been taking shelter in the dilapidated old place, leaving SG-1 to wonder if there was a chance of any manimal rebels that were against the Goa'uld.

"Keep your eyes open kids, we're going in," Jack warned lowly, ducking beneath a poorly boarded-up doorway and entering into a dusky corridor. The place showed nothing of the advanced technology that was in the area they were previously being held captive in.

Scanning the dusky atmosphere and squinting against the lack of lighting, Jacob, Daniel, and Teal'c reached for their flashlights while Sam and Jack simply flicked on the lights mounted to their P90s. They carefully ventured further within the complex, traveling down stairs and along corridors with dirt-littered floors. The musty smell and dust caused Daniel to sneeze loudly several times, each time receiving a reproachful glare from Jack and Jacob while Sam grimaced in sympathy, silently pleading for him to be quiet.

They cautiously entered a large empty room with a high ceiling, then everything else in the next few minutes went by as a blur.

The attack came out of nowhere. Before anyone knew it, they had all dropped to their knees as a strange, tingling wave of energy passed over them. Suddenly weak and disoriented, Daniel, Jack, and Sam soon fell to their sides in unconscious heaps, Jacob and Teal'c following a bit more slowly from the efforts of Selmak and Teal'c's symbiote. Eventually, their bodies succumbed to the motions of the others as well. Helpless and prone to a more violent attack, SG-1 were unable to do anything as five shadowed strangers approached their downed forms and began the task of dragging them away.

-

Jack jerked awake with a start at the feel of a hand pressed firmly against his shoulder. The slight gasp and reassuring whisper let him know that it was Sam. He almost smiled at the thought, then remembered what happened. Sitting up quickly, he squinted while his eyes adjusted to the low lighting, and Jack was surprised to find all of his team (Jacob included) around and appearing relatively safe and calm. He rose a suspicious eyebrow when he noticed there were others huddled around them, and they were human looking. Not beast/human hybrids, just humans. "What's goin' on?" He murmured cautiously while everyone continued to stare at him without saying anything.

Gesturing toward the others that Jack didn't recognize, Sam smiled disarmingly before answering him. "It's okay, these people are rebels. They're against what the other natives do; trading and working for the Goa'uld."

Still confused, Jack opened his mouth to ask another question when Jacob interrupted.

"These people's families are all from the generation of humans living on this planet before the Goa'uld messed with their DNA. Their relatives managed to hide underground in facilities like this when the Goa'uld started abducting everyone." Jacob explained while one of the strangers stepped forward.

A lean, older man with a scraggly grey beard and thinning hair shuffled along the dirtly floor and knelt down in front of Jack. He smiled kindly and introduced himself with a grubby, outstretched hand. "Hello. I'm Rendar, the leader among our small group of underdwellers."

Although he was still a bit edgy and disoriented, Jack shook the man's hand and nodded. He shifted from his position on the floor and slid back to lean up against the nearest wall. "Colonel Jack O'Neill," he introduced automatically, voice low and quiet. Brows furrowing now, he eyed Rendar a bit sternly. "Why'd you attack us?" Jack demanded, increasing the volume in his voice slightly. He noticed they'd all been disarmed, but the rest of his team didn't seem concerned, so he didn't bother making an issue of it. For now.

The man's dull grey eyes widened before he nodded slowly and sat back down. "I am truly sorry about that. As I explained to your companions, this complex was adjusted to serve as protection for us. Our few capable scientists and technicians have created defense mechanisms to protect us from the Goa'uld, and...the others, using stolen technology from them. The room you ventured in was protected by our security and I regret you were harmed by it."

"It's okay, we understand," Daniel spoke up, although he had assured Rendar that they didn't blame him when the man explained earlier, moments before Jack had woken.

Teal'c cocked his head to the side slightly with interest. "How did you manage to procure such technology?" he inquired seriously.

Rendar smiled briefly. "One of the others is on our side."

"Hmph," Jack snorted with disbelief and frowned.

"It is true." This time it wasn't Rendar who spoke, but a small woman no older than thirty, with dark reddish-brown hair, tanned and dirtied skin, and bright, trusting green eyes. "My husband, Ruksha. He brings us technology and supplies."

"Ruksha?" Daniel repeated, adjusting his glasses and blinking with sudden recognition. "Wait, wait, wait, that sounds familiar," he mumbled hurriedly as thoughts quickly occured to him. Waving a hand in the air, he took a step toward the small woman excitedly. The archaeologist remembered that name being uttered by the Jaguar-man when he was brought into that room to see him. "Your husband wouldn't happen to look like...well...a sabretooth tiger, would he?"

The woman appeared confused. She didn't understand that term. "I'm sorry," she apologized softly in a meek voice. "I do not understand,"

Biting his bottom lip, Daniel realized that they probably wouldn't know what a sabretooth tiger was. He tried to explain, by describing the manimal he guessed to be this woman's husband. "Uh, golden brown fur, slightly rounded ears, slitted eyes..." he gestured along his jaw with his hands, "Long, sharp teeth?"

Smiling softly, the woman nodded. "Yes, that sounds like my husband." Lowering her head, she seemed to sadden briefly and sighed. "He was not always that way. For a long time the Goa'uld stopped seeking out our people that they knew to be hiding on the planet. The only beasts that remained were those born from the ones that came before, that is why most do not know our language. They have created one of their own.

"But a few years ago the Goa'uld returned to seek out more of us for their experiments." The woman chewed her lower lip, appearing as though she were forcing back tears. "My husband was captured, and...changed." She took a deep breath. "They tried to force him into their ways, but he merely pretended to go along with it, for our sakes. That is why he helps us, but he cannot leave the others because they will know."

SG-1 all nodded in understanding. They couldn't imagine what it was like for these people, having to hide underground, relying on one person for everything they needed. The poor young woman couldn't even see her husband on a regular basis. It must have been difficult. They all realized that and sympathized.

Daniel seemed pensive for a moment. It now made sense to him why the sabretooth manimal seemed to understand him.

"Rendar," cut in a young man of around thirty, with thick and shaggy black hair, dirt-covered tanned skin, and pale green eyes. "It grows late. Should we not offer these strangers a place to rest?"

The elder man smiled over at the young man with a thankful nod, appreciative he'd been reminded of the hour. "Aye Leynus, of course." Rendar scratched at his scraggly grey beard before turning to look at Jack with kind eyes. He stood slowly and waved a hand for SG-1 to do the same. "Follow me. I shall show you to your quarters where you may rest and refresh yourselves." Rendar then addressed the woman. "Ibsha, go tend to your ailing mother and get some rest dear,"

Smiling sadly, the woman nodded, ducking her head and leaving quickly.

"Thank you," Jacob nodded toward the man who was about his own age, if not a bit older. He noticed Jack slowly taking everything in, gathering up every fine detail of their current surroundings and not paying much attention to anything else.

Sam walked alongside Jack as they all followed Rendar past the others and down the long, dimly lit corridors. She silently watched him as they strode on, wondering what was going through his head. It was obvious that he was distracted, but she wasn't entirely sure why.

Daniel and Teal'c stood side by side, following just after Jack and Sam. The archaeologist seemed to notice that Teal'c appeared to be a bit wary as well, already sensing how tense Jack was with these people.

Rendar led the teammates along several narrow, sloping halls and multiple flights of stairs before they'd reached their destination. The elder man stood out in the slighty dank hallway and gestured into the room. It was more like two rooms actually, separated by one middle wall with an open doorway connecting them. Each small, musty-smelling room had two sets of bunks against the walls. One of the right, the other on the left. In the back of each room was a grungy sink with twisted and rusty piping that snaked into the cement behind it.

Jack gratefully noticed, with a bit of relief, that their weapons had been piled on the floor near the back wall. Eyeing the rest of his team, he noticed they didn't appear surprised by the sight of the weapons and figured they must have been informed earlier when he'd still been unconscious.

Turning to look at the strangers, Rendar sent a weak, embarrassed smile and slighty shrugged. "Sorry it isn't much, but it's all we can offer."

Jacob gave the scrawny elder man a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We're just grateful for your hospitality." He half smiled while the rest of SG-1 sent Rendar their thanks before entering the conjoined rooms.

Rendar nodded faintly with a brief smile. "The facilities are at the end of the hall if you need to make use of them. I will leave you all to your rest now. We keep guards on lookout above ground throughout the night, so you need not worry about intruders. If they should breach the surface an alarm will sound, notifying all of us below."

"Thank you," Jacob smiled kindly to show his appreciation, watching silently as Rendar turned down the dank hallway and shuffled away in the dark. He then entered the rooms, seeing that Daniel and Jack had already claimed their bunks toward the right wall of the first room. Jack appeared to already be fast asleep on the lower bunk, curled on his side and facing the wall, while Daniel lay on his back on the top bunk with his head pillowed on folded arms behind him.

Glancing over at her father and smiling, Sam shrugged and gestured toward the connecting room to the left when Teal'c sat heavily on the other bunk across from where Jack and Daniel were. "I guess we're sharing Dad,"

Jacob shrugged, his face serious as he gestured toward the top bunk above where Teal'c sat. "I can sleep in here if you prefer to have your own room," then he smirked wryly. "I remember quite well how much you valued your privacy in your teen years,"

"Har, har," Sam rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. It was a bit chilly in these lower rooms. "Dad, I've spent plenty of time sharing my sleeping space while off-world. It isn't a good idea to be bunking alone in unknown territory."

"I know, I know," Jacob smiled lazily. "I was just teasing, Sam." Then she smirked, and he knew that she was teasing as well. Hanging his head in defeat, Jacob muttered something about daughters under his breath and shuffled off into the next room.

Sam smiled and watched him go, but didn't leave yet. She hung around by the open doorway between the connecting rooms and watched Jack for a moment, staring at his back since he was facing away from her. Brows furrowed slightly, she gazed at him with a bit of concern. He was being unusually quiet, and she hadn't at all expected him to drop off to sleep so fast like that.

"Hey Daniel?" Sam called out softly, knowing the archaeologist wasn't yet asleep.

"Yeah?" he murmured from his bunk, turning his head and shifting his arms slightly so he could see her.

"Would you keep an eye on the Colonel? I mean, get some sleep and all, but.." she trailed off, suddenly a bit embarrassed by her request.

"Don't worry Sam," Daniel sent her a reassuring smile. "I'll look after him. I know he's acting a little..._off_..but I bet he's just tired, that's all." _More like severe post-healing device lag..or something, _he thought to himself.

She nodded, then covered her mouth as she yawned and headed into the conjoined room where her dad had gone. Seeing him sitting on the bottom bunk toward the left wall, Sam crawled onto the bunk against the right wall that seperated the two rooms. She wanted to be close to the open door where she could easily check on Jack, just in case. Remembering how she'd fallen asleep at the end of his bunk at the SGC the other night, Sam almost wished she'd be able to do that here, only wanting to be closer to him. Although it was a bit awkward (more for her than him) in the morning, they each got over it fairly quickly without really saying much on the subject.

Noticing his daughter's distraction, Jacob raised an eyebrow over at her as he laid down. "Sam? You okay?"

Smiling briefly over at him, she nodded. "Yep, I'm fine. G'night Dad." Zipping up her jacket against the chill of the cool room, Sam snuggled down on the thin-mattressed bunk and pulled the wool-like blanket over her. She had a hard time finding sleep, but somehow she managed, drifting off unawares.

-

SG-1's sleep was disturbed hours later by the shrill sound of an ear-piercing alarm. Sam shot out of bed, her eyes wide, instantly alert. She hurried to the open doorway that connected the small room with the one where Daniel, Jack, and Teal'c were, finding the archaeologist scrambling off the top bunk while Teal'c stood next to his bed with an ever-stoic expression. "What is that?" She yelled over the sound of the alarm, the annoying noise still continuing to blare loudly.

"What's going on here?" Jacob appeared behind Sam, having jumped out of bed a second after his daughter. "Is that the intruder alarm?"

Sam scanned the cramped little room, her eyes settling on the bunk below Daniel's and not finding who she was looking for. "Where's Colonel O'Neill?" Her gaze shot over to the archaeologist, demanding an answer to that particular question before anything else.

Briefly glancing at his watch, Daniel rubbed his eyes before adjusting his glasses. "Uh, Jack got up about half an hour ago. He said he couldn't sleep and stepped out into the hall," He gestured outside the rooms with a wave of his hand. Grimacing as Sam shot him a look, Daniel scrubbed a hand over his face, expression suddenly sheepish. "Agh, damn. I was gonna stay up until he came back... I didn't mean to fall asleep." He winced, but knew that Sam wouldn't say anything in front of her father and Teal'c. "I'll go look for Jack," he began to leave the much-too-small room and head into the dim corridor, hurriedly putting on his vest and grabbing his zat just in case.

Jacob placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and glanced over at Teal'c. "We'll go find out what's going on." He grimaced from the shrill sound of the still-wailing alarm, getting a nod from Daniel before they all left the room.

As the team neared the surface level, still with no sign of Jack, they found themselves caught in a tide of people scrambling to go in the opposite direction.

Seeing a familiar face among the wave of raggedly dressed people, Jacob reached out to grasp the shoulder of the old man. "Rendar," he addressed him loudly over the alarm.

Turning with a wild-eyed look, Rendar took Jacob in before speaking frantically. "We must get everyone to the safe rooms far below! The others have come! Our defenses aren't holding!"

Sam, Jacob, and Daniel all were bright-eyed with shock. Teal'c stood stoic as usual, a hint of concern with the situation showing in his eyes.

"Some of our warriors are fighting them off, but it will merely stall them. They've gotten around our defenses and will come for sure!" Rendar attempted to push the team back. "Go! We must hurry!"

Daniel caught a pleading look of apprehension from Sam. He knew what she silently asked of him, and he wouldn't deny her. "Go down with them to the safe room. I'll find Jack if he hasn't already headed down there." Shoving past the swarm of frantic people, Daniel tapped his chest, gesturing toward the radio tucked away in his vest pocket. "I'll keep in touch!" came the shout above the noise before he disappeared. Although he hadn't voiced it aloud, Daniel had that twisting gut feeling that if there was a battle going on at the surface, Jack would be right in the middle of the fray, whether he intended to be or not.

As he neared the surface levels of the big underground bunker, Daniel's eyes widened upon the chaotic scene. There were no more people scrambling to get to safety. Those left were there because they wanted to be. They were defending their people against the Goa'uld-allied beast/human hybrids. The archaeologist had to push back his interest in the complexity of how the creatures came to be in their ways of battle and focus on the task at hand. He had to find Jack.

Pressing his back up against the wall and ducking into a small alcove shrouded in dark shadows that hid from the dawning light of the morning sun, Daniel held his breath as a huge, rhino-like beast tossed aside one of the defending humans effortlessly. Exhaling as the manimal stomped past his hiding place to invade the hallways leading deeper into the complex, Daniel crept from the shadows and rested a hand just above the zat gun on his leg holster.

_What kind of archaeologist carries a weapon?!_

Daniel remembered the words spewed from Jack's mouth toward the off-world archaeologist counterpart, Malachi, a man whose fault it was that they had gone through their first time-loop adventure. Atleast, to _their_ knowledge it was the first. Jack and Teal'c were the only ones to be aware of the looping, though there was no way of knowing if other loops had happened due to interference from some other alien race at any point.

After Jack had questioned Malachi about his strange little gun, Daniel clearly recalled pointing out that he himself, as an archaeologist, indeed carried a weapon.

Returning to the present, Daniel focused on the mass of bodies just down the length of the wide corridor. Dead and wounded, most of them younger men and elder ones fit enough to fight, lay sprawled along the floor. Grimacing, Daniel noted that most, if not all of them were humans, not manimals. He watched the backs of retreating figures, seeming to head toward the light from outside, dressed in scraps of armor and dragging along a few unfortunate prisoners. Daniel felt a sudden knot in his stomach. _Have they got Jack? _He wondered, but not for long. Before he had a clue what he was about to do, Daniel felt the sudden impact of a blow from a blunt object smashing into the back of his skull, then the archaeologist knew no more.

-

**Note: **Some action in this chapter, and a bit of a cliff hanger. XD Please review!


	8. EIGHT

**Note: **Thanks for the reviews. :) Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I thought I'd already posted it. D'oh. Anyways, hope you enjoy.

**EIGHT**

As Daniel came to, instinctively rubbing at the sore spot on the back of his head where he'd remembered being hit, his eyes momentarily clenched shut after just being opened. He grunted, slowly sat up, fighting the rushing nausea from the movement.

"Spacemonkey, nice of you to join me."

The voice was low and raspy, but it still held the sarcastic cynisism that Daniel associated with his friend. "Jack!" He hadn't meant to sound so cheerful, and it came out as more of a croak than anything, but he was just damn glad to have found him. Daniel's optimism was soon dashed when he managed to sit up and focus enough to realize where they were.

It was a cell. The place was dark, smelly, drafty, and damp. It was pretty much as typical and cliché as any prison cell could get, and with that in mind, Daniel had to wonder if they were captured by the same group of manimals that had entrapped them before. _That must have been the upscale version. _He thought wryly, suppressing a sneeze.

Bleary blue eyes darted around slowly before settling on Jack's shadowed form, tucked into the darkest corner of the roughly eight-by-ten cell. Daniel blinked steadily, trying to stand but finding it much too dizzying of a task at the moment. Instead, the archaeologist shifted to his knees and managed a slow, shuffling crawl. "You okay?"

"Oh yeah Danny-boy, just _peachy_!" The voice was strained, weak-sounding through all the usual sarcasm. "Jacob, Sam, an' Teal'c still okay?"

"As far as I know. They went back down towards the safe rooms with Rendar and the others." Despite the bravado as Jack tried to deflect attention from himself, Daniel would not be easily thwarted. He edged a bit closer and noticed how pale his friend was, even in the dim light. He also noticed Jack nursing a swollen, and obviously hurting left arm, probably broken. "What happened?" Daniel gestured toward the limb.

Jack grinned half-heartedly for a brief moment. "Got knocked down from behind, lost my sidearm. Big rhino-lookin' guy slammed a pipe down on my arm when I went to reach for it." He grimaced, a soft sigh escaping.

Daniel gave a nod in sympathy. "Ah. Saw that guy, he was huge."

"Try _gigantinormous_," Jack amended weakly with a lopsided grin.

Smiling briefly, Daniel positioned himself perpendicular to the grimy wall that Jack leaned against. His head continued to pound unmercifully and he grimaced.

"Got knocked out good, huh Danny-boy?" Jack briefly smirked, a flash of white in the darkness.

"Ugh," Daniel grunted, squinting one eye and rubbing gingerly at the back of his head. "You could say that." The archeaologist knew that his friend was trying to distract him from his own obvious injuries, and for now Daniel allowed it.

The sudden crackle of static coming from Daniel's vest pocket got Jack's immediate attention. "You still got your radio," he commented, like it was necessary.

Patting at his chest, Daniel's eyes were wide with a mixture of surprise and relief. Jerking the device from his vest pocket, he cupped the radio in both hands, holding it close to his face. "Sam, Teal'c, Jacob, it's Daniel. Do you read?" He was whispering, hoping against all hope that if there were guards outside their cells nearby that they wouldn't hear.

_"Daniel!" _Sam's voice came back through the radio followed by a burp of static. _"Where are you?! We looked around when things got a little quiet but didn't see hide nor hair of you or the Colonel," _She sounded worried as she mentioned O'Neill, her voice cracking faintly.

"Well, uh, I found Jack." Daniel hesitated, grimacing to himself somewhat sheepishly. "But only because I got captured and we wound up as cell mates."

_"Are you both alright?" _Once again, Sam sounded anxious, concerned.

Briefly, Daniel's eyes flickered over to Jack before settling to stare at the toes of his boots. "We're a little banged up, but pretty much okay," he answered her quickly. Jack had been silent since the radio conversation began, increasing Daniel's concern for his friend. He was surprised O'Neill hadn't tried to snatch the radio from him to begin formulating an escape plan with Major Carter.

_"Daniel, do you have any idea where you've been taken?" _This time it was Jacob's voice that came over the soft crackle of static.

The archaeologist sighed audibly as he hit the button. "Uh, no. I was apparently unconscious when I got here," Daniel turned to Jack with questioning eyes, only receiving a one-shouldered shrug and an expression that clearly stated, _Don't look at me. _"Jack doesn't know either," he spoke into the radio after realizing that Jacob couldn't see Jack's gesture.

_"How did you manage to hang on to the radio?" _It was Sam's voice again.

Daniel had to think about that, an eyebrow raising curiously in slight confusion. "I don't know." He felt around his vest, noticing his knife, most everything from his pockets, and anything else that could be conceived as a weapon was gone. "I suppose they didn't thoroughly search us...or something." Shrugging, he looked at Jack, who appeared a bit skeptical as he'd been left without his entire vest. Daniel couldn't help but notice how O'Neill continued cradling his left arm.

_"Daniel, we're going to head out and find where they've taken you once things slow down a little on our side. Rendar says the technicians won't raise the shield defenses in the safe room until their scout tells them the fighting's done." _

When Sam paused and shouted something off not directed at him, Daniel could hear arguing muffled in the background and guessed that Teal'c and Jacob weren't too happy that they couldn't leave and join the underdweller warrior's plight. It also meant they couldn't immediately charge in to help him and Jack either.

_"We're not sure if all of the manimals have left yet. Just hang in there," _Sam said calmly as she came back on the radio.

"Got it," the archaeologist gave a short nod.

Speaking up for the first time since the communication began, Jack grunted to gain Daniel's attention, jerking his chin in gesture. "Maintain radio silence for now. We'll contact if we need to."

Repeating this into the radio, seeing as Jack didn't ask for it to tell the rest of the team himself, Daniel then clicked it off and tucked the device safely into his vest pocket once more. The wheels in his mind were turning quickly, and it seemed like a long while before he finally voiced his running thoughts. "I think they were searching for something."

The reaction Daniel got from Jack was a raised eyebrow. The archaeologist continued. "The manimals. When they broke into the underground bunker. They seemed to be searching for something...or some_ones_." He took in a slow breath. "It wasn't just a pointless slaying Jack. Did you see the weapons they carried? Nothing advanced like when we'd been captured before. Nothing immediately deadly. Broken piping, staffs, knives, and short blades. I wonder if they were capturing more humans to turn into..." Daniel gulped, hoping he wasn't right, "Them."

Jack gave him a short shake of his head, which forced him to suppress a grimace. "Don't even think it," he muttered lowly. Then he sighed loudly and glared at Daniel. "Why do ya always gotta be so _negative_?" he quipped, bringing back a little humor into their grim situation.

Daniel snorted, waving a hand at Jack. "Well, Mr. Optimism, what do _you _think's going on then, _hmm_?"

Before he could muster up a retort, the front bars of the cell were yanked open, sliding back loudly before a stocky, boar-like manimal stepped into the dank little room. Jack stifled the urge to cringe at the sight of this beast, steadying his breaths and convincing himself that it wasn't the same manimal involved in his previous poor treatment during their last visit to P8Y-974.

Hamlet, as Jack decided to call him, scanned his two prisoners carefully, then snorted loudly and stomped from the cell. The sliding bars slammed shut with the clang of metal, and both Jack and Daniel shared a confused look.

"Umm...what the heck was that all about?" Daniel wondered aloud, relaxing a bit now that the beast had gone.

The tension eased off Jack slowly and he gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Ah..." He paused dramatically before sending Daniel a lopsided grin. "I got nothin'."

-

Sam sat with her knees up, perched on a rickety wooden chair in the back of a tiny safe room down in the bowels of the underground bunker. She rocked back and forth slowly, staring down at the floor as her mind drifted, thoughts focusing on her two missing friends. Daniel had said that Jack was okay, well, he'd said they were both a little banged up, so she _assumed_ that meant Jack was pretty much okay. What worried her though, was the fact that he hadn't said a word over the radio. It wasn't like him at all.

"Hey," Jacob nudged his daughter's shoulder lightly, then handed her a cup of relatively clean-looking water. "Here,"

Raising her head to smile tightly at him, Sam took the grubby little cup and sipped at it. Her eyes flickered over to Teal'c, standing guard by the open door and looking out for anyone who wasn't on their side. Gaze still drifting slowly about the room, Sam found Rendar and Ibsha, the small woman whose husband had been turned into one of the manimals. They were both leaning against the wall, looking tired and worried.

Sam cringed as she recalled Ibsha's story of when her husband was taken. Her greatest fear at the moment was that the very same thing was happening to Daniel and Colonel O'Neill now. Although they'd made brief radio contact, Sam wasn't sure how long Daniel would be able to hang onto the radio before one of their captors found out about it. The thought certainly didn't put her at ease.

-

Daniel stared at his silent friend for a long while. Jack didn't look well, but he couldn't quite figure out why. His face was much too pale, his eyes sunken and tired, and he looked ready to fall flat on his face; he was sitting down, leaning against the grungy wall and apparently determined to keep awake. Jack was carefully cradling his injured arm, and Daniel then had to wonder if his friend was suffering from a case of shock. If that was it, then the Colonel could be in a lot of danger if left untreated.

"Jack," the archaeologist called out, trying to get O'Neill's attention.

Head jerking up slightly, followed by a wince and quiet hiss of pain, Jack squinted with a weak, sideways glare at Daniel. "What?"

"You're being awful quiet," Daniel said with a hint of concern in his voice.

"So what?" Jack continued to glare. "I'm tired," he muttered defensively.

"Arm bothering you?" Daniel ignored his friend's obvious irritation at the direction this conversation was going. He gestured toward the limb.

Jack heaved a sigh, his eyes closing briefly. "Only if you consider throbbing pain a bother."

Daniel felt a twisting in his gut. If Jack's arm was badly broken, the jagged pieces of bone could cause bleeding inside the arm and start an infection, that if left untreated could infect his blood and eventually kill him. If they were lucky and got rescued in time before that, got Jack back to the SGC, they might have to amputate the limb. Mentally cursing his morbid thoughts, Daniel steadied his gaze on Jack. "It's broken, isn't it?" He let the question hang in the air, almost not really expecting his friend to answer.

Sighing once more, Jack's eyes lazily flicked down to his arm that was now both swollen _and _black and blue. "Yeah," he muttered truthfully, knowing it was by the fire that shot through the limb whenever he moved it. That and the constant throbbing.

"We'd better set that," Daniel said with grim determination, moving closer to Jack.

Frowning, Jack just glared at him a moment before rolling his eyes and grimacing a bit. "Danny-boy, if you're half as bad at splinting broken bones as Carter..." he trailed off, not needing to finish the thought. His mind reeled back to the time when he and Sam were thrown out of the gate on Antarctica, and she was forced to splint his broken leg. It certainly wasn't a pleasant experience that he cared to think about.

Daniel smiled a little, then began looking around for something fairly straight and sturdy to strap Jack's arm to. From the looks of it, the arm was broken somewhere between his wrist and elbow, and luckily not further up. It would have been much harder to splint that way.

Taking out the hard, protective insert from his vest, Daniel decided to use the flat piece to strap Jack's arm to, once he'd set the bone. Now all he needed was something to wrap it with. Removing his jacket and standing up, the archaeologist pulled off his t-shirt, then shrugged back into the jacket and zipped it up to keep himself warm. He began tearing the shirt into strips before kneeling beside Jack.

Knowing what he had to do, Daniel's eyes dropped to Jack's arm before flicking back up to his face. "Ready?" He asked tentatively.

"Ah, no." Jack grimaced with a humorless laugh, taking in a steady breath before preparing himself and clenching his teeth. Goddammit, this was really gonna suck.

-

Sam, Jacob, and Teal'c had started making their way out of the compound, going along some secret passages, led by Leynus, the young man they'd met with Rendar the day before. He led them through narrow tunnels, up ladders, and along small crawl spaces to make their way safely to the surface. Sam was just thankful to breathe in fresh air again. She sighed heavily, blinking against the light from the now-fully risen sun. Shielding the light with her hand, Sam glanced sideways over at her father.

Jacob recognized the brief look that crossed his daughter's face. It was the same fearful look on her face when she'd thought he was dying on Netu. The look was then replaced with fierce determination, just like she'd been determined to get him out of there, successfully completing the rescue mission and getting her father back in relatively one piece. Jacob smiled at Sam, then gave Teal'c a nod. The fierce warrior was already set to go into action. "Let's go find them,"

"You..you're going to look for your friends, yes?" the slightly hesitant voice of Leynus spoke up when the three began to set off into the jungle.

Teal'c was the one to turn back, his face a mask of stone, letting no emotion show through the hard surface. "We are."

"But you don't know where they are." Leynus stated it slowly, waiting for confirmation.

"We do not," Again, Teal'c responded.

Sam spoke up, her eyebrows rising in question. "Do _you _know where the others could have taken them?" Her bright blue eyes were pleading, and she just hoped his man would be sympathetic and help them out. It was obvious to Sam that he had knowledge that could be of use to them in finding Daniel and the Colonel.

Leynus seemed to stray out of focus in thought, his pale green eyes fixed on the ground. "I know where some of the hidden camps of the others are. I was once taken prisoner and managed to escape." He admitted softly, not looking at the three off-worlders.

"Will you help us?" Jacob asked lowly in a calm, and hopefully kind voice. He wanted this man to help them because he wanted to, not because he feared them for any reason.

With a decidedly shaky sigh, Leynus nodded, raising his chin. "I will help."

A grateful smile spread across Sam's face, and she gently squeezed Leynus' shoulder. "Thank you."

-

**Note: **Pretty please review :D


	9. NINE

**Note: **Thanks to those of you that have reviewed. I hope there's still others out there reading this story, besides the reviewers. This chapter should answer some questions that have been asked, and maybe even offer a few explanations. :) But anyways, here's the next chapter.

**NINE**

Daniel never, _ever _wanted to do something like that again. Setting and splinting his best friend's arm had been something he wouldn't soon forget. Not because of the trauma done to his friend, but because he had to be the one inflicting the pain, and Jack didn't even yell, scream, or complain. Not once. The experience left Daniel a bit unsettled, and he'd even half-expected Jack to pass out while he fixed his arm. He didn't though. Daniel should have known that Jack O'Neill was made of more stubborn stuff than that. But still, his arm was pretty bad, and the archaeologist didn't really have much of an idea what he was doing. He just prayed he didn't make things worse.

Jack hadn't passed out yet, but looked about ready to now. As Daniel watched his friend in the darkness of the room, he noticed the heavily fluttering lids, his struggle to stay awake and alert. With a new strategy to make sure Jack rested, the archaeologist suppressed a grin at his own cleverness before speaking. "Hey," Daniel called out softly, almost wincing as his friend's head jerked up sharply in acknowledgment. "I'm sure we both didn't get any sleep last night, so I'll take first watch. Get some rest Jack, I'll wake you in a few hours and then we'll switch."

Squinting, Jack saw through Daniel's little ploy, but didn't call him on it. He knew he could use some sleep and that he probably looked like hell. That, and his head was throbbing in tune with the pain in his arm. With a short nod, he agreed. "Wake me sooner if we get any visitors," he murmured, eyes already closing as he tried to relax back against the grubby wall. Jack still protectively cradled his left arm, though it was splinted decently and wrapped up good enough to make the limb feel slightly better, though it continued to throb. What he could really use was a couple packs of ice and some of Janet's pain meds shooting straight into his veins.

Giving a nod in return, Daniel smiled triumphantly when Jack closed his eyes and began to doze off.

-

Leynus talked quietly about his brief imprisonment while leading the team through the humid, swamp-like forest, down a rarely-used path that was crossed liberally with twisting vines, rocks, and other plant-life that had grown in the way over time.

Teal'c took point with Leynus up ahead of the small group, with Jacob in the middle, and Sam watching their six.

Sam continued trudging at the back of the group for what seemed like forever before they came to a halt. Leaning sideways and peering past her father, Sam spotted Leynus crouch down in front of a big boulder and begin brushing away large sticks and other debris. Teal'c was standing beside him in a cautious stance. She felt a little relief when Leynus finally uncovered what appeared to be a rusty old hatch, as rarely used as the path they'd traveled to get there.

-

"Jack," Daniel called out to try and gain his friend's attention, still appearing to be sleeping very heavily. The archaeologist knew Jack to be a light sleeper while on missions, and when he wasn't, it had him a little concerned. If his sleep was disturbed by the slightest sound, Jack normally sprung to full alertness, ready to lash out at everything and anything within range.

Edging closer across the few feet of dirty floor between them, Daniel reached out a hand and tentatively nudged Jack's foot. "Hey, Jack," Getting no response, Daniel grasped Jack's foot and shook it hard, startled that his friend hadn't woken yet. "Jack!" He hissed, more urgently now. "Wake up!"

Jerking his knee up to move his foot from Daniel's insistant jarring, Jack groaned as his eyes opened and he snapped, "What?"

Relaxing slightly and sighing softly with relief, Daniel leaned back against the wall and drew back his hand. "Your turn," he said quietly as O'Neill's unfocused brown eyes raked over him with confusion before realization sparked in the dark orbs.

"Oh," Jack murmured, blinking a few times as he tried to clear his head. "Sorry."

"Jack," Daniel scrutinized his friend carefully. "You sure you're okay?"

"Daniel," the man replied a bit sternly. "I'm fine."

The archaeologist eyed his friend somewhat skeptically. "Last time you said that you passed out on the infirmary floor and had to be rushed into surgery," Daniel's eyes narrowed at Jack, daring him to say otherwise.

Sighing with exasperation, Jack sent his friend a wry smirk and gave in. "Alright."

"Is it just your arm then? Or is there something else?" Daniel was still studying him carefully. He didn't seem as pale as before, but otherwise still looked like he'd been through the ringer.

"I got knocked on the head too, same as you." Jack answered truthfully. "That's how they got me here. But that's it."

"Oh." Daniel didn't know what else to say. This pretty much explained the Colonel's other symptoms though, everything reminiscent of a good concussion. Not saying anything further on the subject, Daniel just gave a slow nod of acceptance and left it at that. He then realized that he probably shouldn't have let Jack go to sleep if his head was that bad, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He hadn't known. Luckily enough, Daniel had managed to wake him.

"Now go to sleep Daniel, I'll keep watch." Jack said in full command mode.

Nodding silently, Daniel curled up on his side by the wall, head resting somewhat awkwardly against his arm. His own head was pounding miserably, but since he hadn't felt too drowsy before, he figured his head injury couldn't have been that bad. Jack had been hard enough to wake though, and that scared him a little. Daniel only hoped he would wake up at all in a few.

-

Making their way through the dank tunnel, Sam tried hard to get past the musty smell and focus again on Leynus. The old passageway was thankfully not entirely cramped, leaving enough head room for even Teal'c to be able to stand completely upright, and was atleast an arms length wide. It was dark, but Leynus had broken off some thick branches, wrapping them in a moss-like substance from the rocks and trees to use as torches once Teal'c lit them with the energy charge from his staff weapon.

Teal'c was close behind Sam after she moved up front with Leynus, while Jacob took up the rear as they tracked down the seemingly endless tunnels.

"Your friends have probably been taken to the more primitive prisons, rather than the fortress which is much further away," Leynus said absently as they traveled.

"How can you be sure?" Jacob spoke up from the back, his voice echoing a bit in the hollow passage.

"Because they were taken with our people and most likely weren't noticed as being different. Only strange-worlders are brought to the fortress," he answered matter-of-factly.

Sam shared a brief look with Teal'c, then nodded to herself, mumbling her thoughts out loud. "That explains why we were in the nicer, more advanced prison to begin with."

Curious, Jacob voiced the question that had been on his mind. "What happens to those that are taken to these prisons, Leynus?"

The younger man ducked his head slightly as they continued walking, hesitant with his answer. "Some are changed... Those they believe are worthy. Others are tested upon.." his breath shuddered. "And some are tortured for fun and killed."

Sam felt an enormous lump in her throat, her heart clenching in fear for her two friends, one of them being the man she loved. The way Leynus had a hard time answering her father's question led her to believe that someone close to him had been unfortunate enough to suffer in one way or another at the hands of the manimals.

-

Daniel woke with surprise, finding himself even more surprised at the fact that Jack wasn't the one who'd woken him. He lifted his glasses to rub at his eyes, trying to to focus with what little light there was in the cell. The noise that had woken him sounded again, giving Daniel a start. His eyes shifted quickly, landing on Jack who was sitting up at attention, eyeing him in a way that clearly said _'Don't talk, be still'_.

It made Daniel very aware that someone was coming. He swallowed nervously, slowly sitting up a little straighter. His eyes widened in shock as the bars slid open and he recognized the figure stepping into the cell. Daniel's blue eyes shifted over to Jack, who was narrowing his eyes at the manimal, sizing him up cautiously. "Ruksha!" the archaeologist blurted out with surprise.

The big, sabretooth-tiger man sent a quick nod Daniel's way. This time he wasn't wearing the Roman-esque armor, but was instead clad in a plain brown tunic and a pair of similarly dark threadbare trousers. "I was able to speak with my wife, Ibsha, briefly while the others were preparing to leave. I tried to warn them of the attack, but was unable to get away in time," he lowered his large, feline head in shame.

Daniel's brows furrowed and he nodded mutely. He remembered Ibsha saying that her husband was able to speak both English and the language of the other manimals, but it was strange not hearing growls and grunts from the large sabre-man.

Jack managed to get to his feet, using the wall for support. It was the first time he'd bothered standing since their capture and he found himself swaying dizzily. His head jerked up in surprise and he instinctively pulled away as the manimal grasped his right shoulder to steady him.

"It's okay Jack, he's on our side," Daniel rose to his feet, following Jack's lead, albeit a bit more slowly. His head swam for a second, but he was much steadier on his feet than Jack appeared to be.

"I came to help you escape," Ruksha announced lowly, his keen cat ears twitching, showing he was alert for any other manimals in the cell area. He waved a large paw-like hand over at Jack. "Your friend is wanted by the others because he carries the mark of the Ancients," he explained quietly.

Jack looked indifferent, while Daniel's brows furrowed and he said softly with clarification. "Oh my God, that's right. His Ancient gene."

Ruksha nodded. "They have detected it on your previous capture with a special device. They were testing him to see if he possessed the Ancient's healing power. That is why he was treated so roughly before; tested upon with drugs to make him ill. When your friend escaped, only to return in perfect health, this only gave the others more reason to believe that he did indeed have the power and had healed himself."

Daniel glanced over at Jack, who looked a bit uncomfortable to suddenly be the focus of attention. He'd never mentioned any kinds of tests from their last imprisonment, but then again, Daniel remembered that Jack hadn't wanted to recall much about that. He also realized, that drug Jack had been injected with during their last capture explained why he hadn't really gotten better after the surgery to fix his internal injuries. _The drug must have been undetectable, _he thought to himself, remembering how advanced the manimals actually were. If it weren't for Jacob using the healing device on him, the alien drug would have caused Jack's health to deteriorate further and he would've died.

With a frown, Daniel shook his head and sighed. "Jack doesn't have the Ancient's power; his injuries were tended to using a Goa'uld healing device back on our planet. I mean, look at him now, his arm's broken. Don't you think he would have healed it by now if he could? And besides that, I don't really think their abilities quite worked that way. The Ancient's could heal others, I'm certain, but I'm not sure if they were able to heal themselves."

Ruksha's frown matched Daniel's and he appeared to grimace. "They will never believe that to be the case now. We must get you two out of here before the others realize they've got your friend as prisoner once more. I've already freed the other prisoners. That should occupy the guards and we should make do to escape during the chaos."

"Let's move out," Jack nodded sharply, the commanding tone back in his voice as he recognized that it was time to take charge. He waved a hand at Daniel's vest. "Contact Carter, Teal'c, and Jake; tell them we're gettin' outta here."

It appeared to Daniel as though Jack had gotten his strength back, or was just very good at masking the pain and hiding his symptoms from the head injury. With a sigh, the archaeologist realized it was more likely the latter. The two SG-1 team members followed the rather large and intimidating-looking sabretooth tiger along the grungy, musty-smelling corridors, the damp floor making wet, slapping noises as they jogged along, preparing to go through the chaotic scene that lay twenty meters ahead in the next hall.

-

The prison had very feeble security compared to the one SG-1 had been brought to during their first capture, and it wasn't long before Daniel, Jack, and Ruksha made it to the surface of the facility that lay mostly underground. It reminded Daniel of the barracks where Ruksha's people lived, hiding from the manimals, and it made him wonder if that had once been a prison as well.

"Got any weapons?" Jack asked Ruksha once they paused outside the building, taking cover behind some kind of storage tank.

The massive manimal gave a slight nod of his feline head. He reached into the worn old tunic he wore and drew out two pistols. Very primitive-looking compared to the weapons they'd seen during their first capture. Ruksha then gave the pistols to Jack and Daniel, along with two things that appeared to be clips with bright, greenish-yellow bullets. "I am sorry I could not give you better weapons. Those of the others in this facility are not shared the advanced technology procured from the Goa'uld until much later."

"Hand-me-down weapons eh?" Jack awkwardly held both the gun and the clip in his right hand, his broken left arm tucked close to his stomach.

Daniel clicked his magazine into the butt of the gun, then wordlessly took Jack's and did the same before handing it back to him. The archaeologist smiled a little. "These are almost just like our M9s."

"Yep," Jack grinned, adjusting his grip on the weapon. "This'll do just fine."

Ruksha peeked around the corner of the storage tank. "It's clear for the moment," He pointed out toward the tree-line. "Head in that direction. A few miles out you will reach an old path which will bring you to a cave. That cave connects to the underground tunnels that stretch across the forest toward the facility where your friends are."

"You're not coming with us?" Daniel asked with a bit of hesitance. Jack didn't seem to mind, as he wasn't saying anything. The archaeologist had a feeling his friend was still wary of the manimal.

"No, I've got to go back for a bit and act as though I was pursuing your escape. I will mislead them and then return to my wife when I am able." He grinned, a wide cat-like grin at them. "We must relocate all the others to a safe location. And I will be staying with them this time."

"Good luck," Jack said roughly, watching the sabre-man duck down and race back toward the prison. With his left arm still tucked protectively against his stomach, Jack jerked his head toward the treeline and kept a suspicious eye out for any of the guards. "C'mon Danny-boy, let's get moving." He still had a throbbing headache, but it was much more bearable now, and he felt it somehow had to do with being outside and the fresh air, instead of the stale air inside the cells.

Jack and Daniel weaved a careful path toward the tree-line, ducking and pausing at large rocks or anything they could hide behind on their way, just to make sure they were still alone. They'd just reached the trees when shots were fired. Jack spun mid-run to get a good look at where the onslaught was coming from, felt something punch into his right side and stumbled as Daniel ducked behind a boulder and returned fire. He dropped to his knees and took in fast gulps of air before climbing back to his feet and composing himself as he heard his friend call out to him.

"Jack!" Daniel yelled, uncertain why his friend had just been on the ground. He watched him climb to his feet and dash to the side, getting cover behind a tree and returning fire with him.

Signaling that he was okay, Jack continued firing, spotting the measely two guards that had caught their escape. They apparently didn't have radios and couldn't signal any others for help, or the others were too busy with the rest of the escaped prisoners to come to their aid. Signaling Daniel to cease fire, Jack made a motion toward his clip when the archaeologist threw him a confused look.

Daniel caught on quick. They stopped shooting so the guards would think they were pausing to reload, or had run out of ammo. Hopefully they'd get too cocky and step out from cover. Peeking out from the side of the boulder, Daniel waited with bated breath as they stopped shooting. His blue eyes widened behind his slightly-fogged glasses and he grinned as he watched them emerge from hiding. He shot a look over to Jack, who motioned for him to wait.

Jack could tell that Daniel was getting nervous and antsy as the guards made their slow approach. They were a wolf and an ape-looking manimal, and they were grinning like Cheshire cats, thinking that they've won. They were a mere ten feet away, no cover nearby, when Jack finally signaled Daniel and started shooting. He caught the ape between the eyes and he went down instantly. Daniel was having a little more trouble with the wolf, having gotten in torso shots that seemed to just barely slow the beast down. Coming out from cover as the manimal got much too close to his friend for comfort, Jack began rapidly firing the alien gun, repeatedly hitting the beast in the chest before he dropped like a ton of bricks.

Sighing with relief, Daniel slumped slightly against the boulder before taking a deep breath and rising to his feet. "Thanks." He shared a look with Jack and they both jogged into the cover of the trees.

Trying hard to ignore the pain in his side, Jack was thankful for Daniel's sudden need for a rest when they realized no one was searching for them. He leaned his back up against a tree, using his broken left arm pressed against his stomach to hide the hole in his right side. Putting pressure on the wound really hurt his arm, but he was willing to deal with the pain if it meant he wouldn't bleed to death. Jack was pretty sure the round had gone all the way through, and he hoped that with the sudden lack of lighting, and his back to the tree, Daniel wouldn't notice. He had to deal with it so they could meet up with Carter, Teal'c, and Jacob, and get their asses back to the gate.

-

**Note: **How's that for an early Christmas present:) Happy Holidays everyone!


	10. TEN

**Note: **Thank you again for the reviews:) And as corny as it sounds, there's nothing more rewarding than getting feedback from the readers. XD (and it seems like FFnet is having issues with email alerts again. Ugh!)

**TEN**

The sun had faded away beneath the horizon, shrouding the planet in darkness and shadows. Because of this, Sam and the others kept their torches lit once Leynus had led them out of the tunnels. They emerged in a large, maze-like cave which was then navigated expertly by Leynus before they arrived in the thick, swamp-like woods.

Sam remembered hearing the crackle of static from her radio when they were still in the tunnels, and figured it was Daniel and the Colonel trying to reach them. Though she wanted to make contact to be sure they were alright, not knowing exactly where they were and what kind of situation they were in, Sam didn't want to potentially give away their position. _They'll try again, _she thought hopefully, looking over at Leynus as she noticed him pause to speak to her father.

Moving closer to Teal'c, she overheard Leynus explaining to her father that he wouldn't be able to go with them any farther. Her dad, nodding his understanding, gave the younger man a comforting pat on the back and thanked him for getting them this far. Sam watched him leave, wondering if there was a family back in the barracks he was eager to return to, or if he was just scared of what lay ahead of them.

-

Having traveled nearly a mile on their journey to find the cave, Daniel paused in his trek when he noticed how slowly Jack was going, seemingly struggling to trudge on. "Jack," he called back to his friend, deciding now would be a good time for another break. The archaeologist doubled over and leaned his hands against his knees, pretending to be more out of breath than he was so Jack wouldn't think they were just stopping on his account. "I'm gonna try to reach Sam on the radio again," Daniel said as he straightened a moment and sat himself on a low, flat rock.

Jack just nodded and waved his good arm at his friend in confirmation. He came to a stop about five feet from Daniel, but didn't bother sitting. If he did so he knew he wouldn't be getting back up again anytime soon. Jack could feel the blood from his side staining his splinted left arm that was clutched against the wound, and didn't dare move the arm for fear that Daniel would notice. His breathing was coming in more quick, shallow pants, and Jack was well aware of the sweat breaking out across his forehead. He figured his friend would just assume it was from the humid atmosphere and the exertion from the hike, but it was getting cooler as night settled and Jack wouldn't be able to pretend for much longer.

Taking a deep, hopeful breath, Daniel held down the switch on his radio. "Sam, come in, it's Daniel." _Like anyone else would be radioing in on this alien planet, _the archaeologist thought to himself with an eye roll. "Do you read?"

There was a tense moment of silence, followed soon by the slight crackle of the radio and a faded voice. _"Daniel! I figured you'd been trying to reach us. One of the local men in the barracks, Leynus, led us through some underground tunnels and out a cave to get close to the prison. There was no signal in the tunnels and I didn't want to risk radioing you when we surfaced."_

Daniel heaved a sigh of relief. "It's okay," He glanced over at Jack, who seemed to be listening in as he stood at a distance with his eyes half closed. "Ruksha helped bail us out and lent us a few of the manimal's old weapons. He pointed us in the direction of the cave, so we're on our way."

_"Roger that," _Sam responded, sounding similarly relieved with the news. _"We'll head in your direction down this old path leading out from the cave and try and meet you half-way to provide a little more cover in case anyone is out looking for you guys."_

"Got it," Daniel nodded. "Jackson out," He looked down and smiled, shaking his head slightly. _God, I've been hanging around Jack too long. I'm picking up the military lingo._

When the conversation ended, Jack knew it was time to get moving again, no matter how much he loathed to do so. The pain in his arm had faded down to nearly nothing on his pain scale while his side took his full attention, climbing to nearly an eight. Despite his bone weariness, Jack soldiered on, waving Daniel forward. He didn't need his friend walking behind him where he might be able to see the blood staining the back of his shirt. "I'll watch our six," he murmured as an excuse, then heaved a satisfied sigh when Daniel trudged onward without question.

-

Sam was well beyond relieved to have heard from them, but she'd really wanted to speak to Jack. She nearly cursed herself for not asking Daniel about him, but knew that it would have seemed a bit unprofessional if she didn't focus on the things that needed addressing first. She also knew that Daniel would have said something if anything was wrong with Jack, and he would have sounded a helluva lot more frazzled than he did.

"Sam," Jacob called after his daughter. "Slow down, will you?"

Only then did Sam realize just how much she'd quickened her pace. She just really wanted to get to Jack and Daniel, needing to see for herself that Jack was okay. Watching as a figure moved past her and took the lead when she stopped, she realized that she'd even passed Teal'c. "Sorry Dad," she apologized, glancing down at her booted feet a little sheepishly before waiting until he came beside her and walking with him after Teal'c.

-

For another hour and a half Daniel and Jack trudged on non-stop before they finally found traces of the faded path that would lead them to the cave. Pausing, Daniel noticed how far behind Jack had gotten when he turned around and could barely see him. It was much darker now, and easier for them to get separated, as well as lose sight of the path beneath their feet. He squinted as he jogged back on the trail, coming to a halt just a few feet in front of his friend, who had now stopped moving altogether. The moonlight shone enough through the thick trees above that Daniel could just about see the fine sheen across Jack's face. "Hey..." He paused, looking over his friend and noticing how his left arm was clutched painfully tight to his right side. "Jack? What's the matter, are you okay?"

Swallowing convulsively and forcing back the rising bile, Jack nodded mutely for a minute to let his head to stop spinning. He knew Daniel was talking to him, figured he was asking questions even though he was in too much pain to make out the words now, so he just nodded as much as he could. His eyelids had started to flutter and he felt himself swaying on his feet, suddenly lightheaded and dizzy.

Daniel stood at his friend's side now, putting a hand to his lower back to steady him. His brows furrowed as he felt something warm and sticky across his palm and Jack hissed in pain. Dragging his hand back, he examined it under the bit of light available. No doubt about it, it was blood. Jack's blood. "Oh, God," he gasped, suddenly finding himself taking Jack's full weight as the man crumpled to the ground. "Jack!"

Feeling an enormous swell of panic, Daniel helped lower his friend to the ground so he was no longer bearing his full weight. Jack sunk down on his right side and immediately curled into a ball, his splinted left arm automatically clutching across his stomach. Kneeling at his friend's side, Daniel had to force him onto his back to examine the wound. When Jack groaned at the movement, Daniel winced in sympathy and pulled up the wounded man's blood-soaked t-shirt. "God, Jack," the archaeologist hissed, turning his head away briefly. "Why didn't you tell me you'd been shot?!"

Daniel was angry that his friend had been silent about his pain, but he knew why Jack did it. Jack didn't want him to slow down because of his injury; he knew it was more important to regroup with the rest of SG-1 and return to the stargate immediately. Rolling Jack over on his left, careful of the injured arm, Daniel checked the exit wound on his friend's back. The hole was significantly bigger than the entry wound, about the size of a quarter, and was still bleeding sluggishly, but not too bad. He only hoped the bullet hadn't hit any major organs. It didn't look infected either, which was definitly a good sign, and a miracle given the humid atmosphere.

The archaeologist knew he needed to contact Sam, but there wasn't much she could do until she, Jacob, and Teal'c met up with them. He'd have to start treating Jack's wounds. Suddenly remembering that his vest had been ransacked and he'd been left with virtually nothing besides his radio, Daniel cursed to himself and frantically fished through the pockets. He came up with one pressure bandage and a thick roll of gauze, but no morphine, antibiotics, or even Tylenol. It would have to do.

After treating the worse wound on Jack's lower back first, using the only propper bandage he had, Daniel rolled him carefully as he began to treat the entry wound. He'd cleaned it as best as he could without any water, wiping it dry with a torn piece of the gauze roll. Jack groaned and used his only good arm to feebly try and push Daniel's hands away. "Jack, please," the archaeologist pleaded, forcing his wounded friend's hand back. "I'm trying to help you. I've got to wrap this wound. Just take it easy,"

Jack stilled with effort, allowing Daniel to wrap the thick gauze around his abdomen. His breathing was heavy and panting as he rode through waves of pain and nausea. _"Sam," _he gasped unknowingly through the haze of pain.

"Hang in there Jack," Daniel soothed softly, sitting on the ground beside his friend once he was finished. He absently brushed a hand through Jack's sweaty hair. "Sam's on her way." Reaching for the radio again, he hailed Sam to try and find out how close she was, and let her and the others know about Jack. It was too dark to see by this time, and even if Jack hadn't been incapacitated, there was no way they'd be able to follow the trail now.

-

After speaking with a panicky-sounding Daniel over the radio, Sam picked up her pace once again, holding her torch ahead to light the faded path into the forest. Nothing was stopping her from getting to Jack now.

Jacob kept moving, watching his daughter rush ahead of himself and Teal'c. He didn't even bother telling her to slow down this time; he knew she just couldn't. Teal'c appeared anxious, not wanting to let Carter off on her own without cover, so Jacob urged the Jaffa to go ahead and stick close to her.

-

Daniel's head jerked up sharply when he caught a glimpse of a light of some kind, bobbing rapidly in the forest out ahead and coming in fast. _Sam. It's gotta be, _he thought hopefully, unconsciously holding his breath as the light closed in. "Sam?" He called out tentatively.

"Daniel!" She yelled back, quickening her pace and trying not to stumble on the ground cover, using her torch to light up the path ahead of her.

"Thank God," Daniel sighed with relief as their friend came into view. His gaze flitted over to Jack, now able to see him more clearly as Sam knelt beside them with her flaming torch. The archaeologist grimaced at the sight of his pale friend.

Sam grasped Daniel's shoulder and looked at him with pleading blue eyes. "How's he doing?" Her watery gaze shifted to the prone man laying on the forest floor.

Taking a breath, Daniel made a face and shrugged.

"Carter," Jack gasped out suddenly, his eyes opening marginally.

Sam and Daniel both stared at him, surprised that he was awake and knew she was there. "Sir?" she questioned with a slight sniff, willing her tears not to come at this moment.

He turned his head weakly and blinked slowly a few times. "You're...in charge," Jack whispered breathlessly, a look of complete trust shared between them. "Get us home Sam," Then he passed out.

Nodding, Sam sucked in her lower lip and whispered, "Yes sir." She turned as Teal'c and Jacob came up behind them and began digging through her vest pockets. Drawing out a single shot of morphine, she injected it into Jack's thigh and glanced toward Teal'c for assistance. "Teal'c, I'm going to need you to carry the Colonel, can you do that?" It was more of an order than a question, but she knew the Jaffa wouldn't refuse.

"Indeed, Major Carter," Teal'c bent down and carefully lifted O'Neill without much effort, carrying the lean man across his shoulders.

Jacob patted his daughter's shoulder comfortingly.

"Daniel," Sam eyed him carefully as she watched him stand. "You okay?"

He nodded. "I'm okay," he answered in a small voice. Daniel's face turned to a mask of determination as he locked gazes with Sam. "Let's go home,"

Sam smiled at him gently for a brief moment and waved Teal'c on before they all marched in the direction of the gate. The Jaffa seemed to know the way, so she didn't question him, knowing he would never put the injured O'Neill in further danger by risking taking the wrong route.

-

The team hauled ass to the gate, and it came into view when daylight began peeking through the trees. It was the most welcoming sight Sam had ever seen. As soon as they reached the DHD, Daniel hurriedly dialed home while she sent through her GDO code. She motioned Teal'c through first with his precious cargo, then followed Daniel and her father into the wormhole.

Once they were back at the SGC, Sam watched with shocked detachment as the medical team filed into the gate room and whisked Colonel O'Neill away on a stretcher. Janet demanded that Daniel be looked at immediately as well, and the archaeologist was reluctantly escorted to the infirmary by two nurses. Sam realized she'd been just standing there in the gate room even as everyone else had gone, when General Hammond came down and approached her.

"Major?" Hammond prodded gently in his more fatherly tone. Even Teal'c had already handed over his gear to the armory technicians and headed for the infirmary to find out about their teammates. "Are you alright?"

Sam blinked and nodded slowly, an automatic, "Yes sir," escaping softly. Taking a deep breath, she nodded once more at the General and left the gate room.

-

"He's going to be fine," Janet was finally able to reassure O'Neill's teammates, who'd been waiting decidedly impatiently by the bed Daniel had acquired in the infirmary after his own med check. The archaeologist simply had a concussion and a few bruises, but then she'd already told them all that. What they wanted to hear now was Jack's condition. She smiled gently before rattling off the list of injuries. "There was quite a bit of bleeding, but there's no infection and the bullet went straight through and didn't hit any organs. He's just got some minor tissue and muscle damage that should heal nicely with some time. Other than the bullet wound, Colonel O'Neill has a concussion and a broken left arm. X-rays showed that it was a fairly bad break, but Dr. Jackson set and splinted it decently enough." Janet sent a nod and brief smile toward Daniel, "The Colonel's arm has been casted, and we've got him on IV fluids, pain meds, and a unit of blood, but I'm glad to say that he's responding well to the treatment."

Sam released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and could've cried with relief. When she'd first found out that the healing device had already been taken away to Area-51 by the NID, she feared that Jack wouldn't heal as well as expected like the last time. Smiling somewhat shakily, Sam nodded and hesitantly asked if they could visit with the Colonel.

Janet nodded at the inquiry. "He's resting at the moment, but he did regain consciousness earlier, and if he does so again while you're there, he'll probably be rather groggy from all the medication he's on. We're still pumping him with antibiotics to hold back any infections, just in case."

"We shall not bother O'Neill for long if he happens to wake, Dr. Fraiser," Teal'c assured the small women with a slight bow.

She nodded with a quick smile. "Alright, go on in and visit for a little while," she motioned the team toward the curtained off corner where O'Neill was and left them to see their friend, reaching for Daniel's arm when he started to slide off the bed he'd been sitting on.

Daniel rose an eyebrow at the doctor and paused in his movements. "Janet?"

"I want you back in bed after visiting with the Colonel, is that clear?" She told him somewhat sternly.

He gave a sheepish sort of nod and smiled, getting to his feet and following Sam and Teal'c over to see Jack.

-


	11. ELEVEN

**Note: **Well, no reviews last chapter. ::pouts:: But I suppose no one caught that update and it didn't help that FFnet didn't send out any email alerts. ::rollseyes:: Soooooo, me hopes I get reviews this chapter! It's a little short, but I hope you enjoy!

**ELEVEN**

In typical O'Neill fashion, Jack had pestered Janet constantly about when he'd be able to leave the infirmary, once he was well enough to do so. Jacob had offered to use the healing device on Jack again before he had to leave for his other Tok'ra duties, but the General had regrettably informed everyone that the NID paid the SGC a little visit while they were on their mission and had all their remaining new alien devices shipped off to Area-51.

Since he was left to heal on his own this time, and luckily his wounds weren't life-threatening, Jack had been under Janet's care for nearly a week. She was now allowing him to go home, as long as someone looked after him for the next few days. But Fraiser wasn't letting the Colonel return to his own home this time. She'd been under the impression that having a teammate look after him in his own home would be dangerous, since she was certain he'd order them to leave if and when he felt he was being 'mothered'. It's not like he hadn't done so before. So, with more than a little reluctance from Colonel O'Neill, Janet had decided to send him to Daniel's house, after speaking privately with Jackson about her concerns first.

"Don't worry Jack, it's not going to be that bad," Daniel tried to reassure his friend in a placating tone as he pushed him along the SGC's corridors in a wheelchair. Janet had demanded that the Colonel accept the ride to the surface or he wouldn't be going anywhere.

"Hmph," Jack simply grunted and sat through the remainder of the ride in silence as they neared the surface and passed through the security checks. During every single day he'd spent in the infirmary, Sam had been a constant visitor. She was more relaxed around him, and a bit more flirty than she had been before. Jack had been confused at first, but then the lower dosage of pain meds had allowed him to think more clearly and he'd remembered their closeness before leaving for the mission back to that dreadful planet full of man-beasties. He fondly recalled her falling asleep in his quarters, at the end of his cot, the night when her father had healed his previous injuries. After that night, neither mentioned anything to the other; they didn't voice any feelings or delve deeper into the moment. It was what it was, and they'd left it at that. That moment they'd had together had left Jack wanting more, needing more. It scared him how badly he wanted to be with her, how much he longed to just be in the same room with her.

"Jack?"

Daniel's voice broke through his silent reverie and he blinked, craning his neck and shifting in the chair to look up at his friend. "What?" He cleared his throat and blinked again, wishing that he'd be staying with Sam instead of Daniel. Daniel was his best friend, sure, but there were things he was now certain had to be discussed with Sam alone. Jack had to know that he wasn't just loopy from over-medicating or something, and that the stronger bond between himself and Sam wasn't imagined.

"Jack, are you okay?" Daniel stepped to the side of the wheelchair. They were now on the surface, the cool autumn air blowing leaves across the ground at their feet, but Jack hadn't seemed to notice any of that yet.

"Yes Daniel," Jack finally muttered, rolling his eyes with mock-exaggeration. He rose slowly from the chair now, steadying his feet under him and wincing slightly as the movement tugged at the abused muscles in his right side where the bullet had gone through.

After asking one of the SFs to take the wheelchair back down to the infirmary, Daniel walked alongside Jack as they headed for his car. He belatedly realized that it would have been more considerate of him to have Jack wait and bring the car over, but the idea came much too late and they were almost there anyway. The archaeologist tried hard not to reach out and steady Jack when his steps occasionally faltered, and waited patiently as his friend got into the passenger seat and reached out to close the door with a soft hiss of pain.

Daniel had to stop at Jack's place to get some of his clothes and things before they'd gone to his house, and the pair were barely there for an hour before Sam came over to visit with Teal'c in tow. Unfortunately, by that time Jack was exhausted and a little loopy from the meds Janet had sent him home with.

Teal'c, Sam, and Daniel had been sitting around the living room chatting for awhile before they noticed that Jack had fallen asleep in the armchair. It was a little past 1800, and Daniel was feeling pretty hungry, assuming the others (minus Jack) must have been hungry too. He slapped his hands on his thighs and smiled. "Hey, what do you guys say we stop by O'Malley's and get some take-out?"

Sam smiled and nodded. "That's a good idea. I've barely eaten anything all day; I'm starved."

Teal'c just gave a slight nod. "I, too, am feeling the need for sustenance."

"Okay," Daniel stood from his seat near Teal'c on the couch and glanced over at Jack before his gaze shifted to Sam with a knowing smile. "Why don't Teal'c and I go pick something up while you stay here with Jack?"

"Sure," Sam nodded, not quite seeing the devilish twinkle in the archaeologist's eyes.

Daniel moved across the fairly open area to his kitchen and grabbed his keys off the counter before slipping on his jacket. Teal'c was already standing by the door. "Sam, what do you feel like eating?"

"I dunno, pasta or something." She shrugged. Chewing her bottom lip briefly in thought, Sam tilted her head before deciding, "Ravioli...with marinara sauce,"

"Got it," Daniel nodded and began to follow Teal'c out the door. "We shouldn't be too long. I'll call the order in on the way," he said as the two of them left.

-

Alone with Jack in Daniel's house, Sam had begun feeling a tad bit awkward just sitting there on the couch with Jack fast asleep in the nearby chair. She scooted toward the furthest end of the couch, as close to the armchair as she could get without actually getting up. Her eyes roamed over him studiously, examining his visible injuries closely. The left arm encased in a bright blue cast from below his elbow and on down to immobilize his wrist was resting protectively across his ride side. Sam had noticed how Jack automatically assumed that pose, as though he still needed to keep pressure on the bullet wound.

Leaning back into the couch, Sam reached for the remote and turned on the tv, flicking through the channels before settling on something rather boring looking. She didn't really care what was on tv anyway because she wasn't paying much attention to it. It was simply something to distract her attention from the Colonel's sleeping form so close by, his breaths even and heavy.

Sam was sitting there staring blankly at the bland entertainment on tv for about fifteen minutes when she heard a soft groan coming from Jack. Fully turning her attention to him, she shifted on the couch and waited patiently as he moved a little and groggily opened his eyes. "Colonel?" she called, testing his lucidity.

His brown eyes blearily scanned the room before he sat up a bit straighter in the armchair with a barely noticeable wince. When Jack's gaze settled on Sam, he cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Where's-" he paused to clear his throat mid-sentence, "Daniel and Teal'c?"

"They went to O'Malley's to get us all something to eat about half an hour ago," Sam answered him softly with a smile. "We decided we were hungry."

"Ah," Jack nodded idly.

Sam noticed that he was sweating, his good hand tapping his thigh as though nervous, and remembered something Janet had told Daniel while she was there, raising her concerns. "Janet said to make sure your blood sugar doesn't get too low, sir." Her brows furrowed slightly as he met her eyes with a lack of comprehension. "She said you'd been a little hypoglycemic while adjusting after the blood transfusion."

"Oh yeah," Jack agreed softly with a slight nod. "Doc pestered me 'bout that,"

"When was the last time you had anything to eat, sir?" She questioned with a bit of concern.

"Sam?" He shifted languidly once more and tilted his head in her direction.

She stared right back at him, concerned that something was wrong. "Sir?" Sam stood up and absently smoothed out the wrinkles in her jeans.

He smiled lopsidedly. "Call me Jack, okay? It's just us," His dark eyes twinkled affectionately at her with the bold instruction. When she smiled back at him, comfortable with the idea of getting permission to use his first name, Jack grinned even wider.

"Okay," she moved in front of his chair. "But you haven't answered my question...Jack," Sam eyed him seriously. "When was the last time you've eaten?"

Jack leaned back slowly in thought, his eyes drifting toward the ceiling. "I dunno, an hour or so before the doc sent me home?" He shrugged. Leaning forward in the chair slowly, Jack got to his feet gingerly and wavered a bit until Sam grasped his right arm to steady him. He blinked several times to focus his vision and nodded a brief thanks to her. "I'm okay,"

Sam could easily tell that he was a bit weak, and realized she needed to get some sugar into his system. She headed for the kitchen, hoping Daniel had something sweet in there, while she watched carefully as Jack headed in a different direction.

He shuffled slowly toward the bathroom, jokingly calling back, "If I'm not out soon, wait 'till Danny gets back and have T knock the door down. Don't want you to hafta find me crashed on the floor by the can," Jack winked at her as he stepped out of sight.

Sam laughed softly at the lame attempt at a joke, though she was really worried that he might be on the verge of passing out if his blood sugar really was very low. Opening up the refrigerator, she stuck her head in and searched for something full of sugar. Moving a carton of milk and some leftover something-or-other out of the way, Sam spied a chocolate bar tucked way in the back on the top shelf. _I knew Daniel had a sweet tooth,_ she thought with a relieved smile, grabbing the chocolate and heading back to the couch to wait for Jack.

He came out a minute later, and she watched him carefully as he took a few steps toward the living room and then paused, standing very still and closing his eyes a moment before opening them and slowly moving toward her again. Jack seemed even more unsteady and sweatier than before as he made it to the couch and plopped down beside her too heavily with a wince. "Hey, I didn't pass out," he announced lightheartedly in a soft, weak voice as though it were an accomplished feat.

"No, but you look like you're about to," quickly unwrapping the chocolate bar, Sam broke off a piece and handed it to him. "Here si - Jack, eat this," She knew giving him something sugary in a liquid form would have been better, but Daniel didn't really have anything in his refrigerator that would qualify, and she didn't want to waste time searching for some sugar to add.

Jack made a face, staring at the piece of milk chocolate in his right hand. "I'd much prefer cake, but..." He shrugged, glanced at Sam with a crooked grin and stuck the piece of candy in his mouth.

When he'd finished eating that, Sam broke off another chunk of chocolate and gave it to him, repeating the process until it was gone. "Feel any better yet?" She asked hopefully as he swallowed the last bit of sweet, sugary chocolate.

"You know," His eyes trailed to hers with an adoring twinkle, "Daniel's not going to be happy, you giving me dessert before dinner," Jack smirked as Sam laughed.

Her bright blue eyes sparkled right back in response to his teasing. "I think he'll take this as an exception." As she watched Jack lean back into the couch cushions slowly with a weary sigh, his eyes blankly gazing as the tv she'd left on, Sam realized he'd avoided answering her question again. Opening her mouth, she was about to call him on it when the front door opened and Teal'c and Daniel walked in carrying bags with their take-out food.

"Hey," Daniel waved with his free hand as he and Teal'c brought the food to the kitchen. He noticed that Jack was awake and called down to his temporary roommate. "Jack, you hungry?"

"Yeah, famished," Jack answered, still looking at Sam with a crooked grin. He made no move to get off the couch as Sam stood and crossed the small space over to the open kitchen.

Sam pulled Daniel aside while Teal'c arranged their food on some paper plates and took out the silverware along with some drinks.

"What?" Daniel asked curiously with furrowed brows as he stood in the hallway with Sam. "Did Jack just wake up?" He leaned to one side so he could peer into the living room where Jack still sat on the couch. With some amusement, he noticed that both Jack and Sam had been sitting on the couch together when he and Teal'c came in.

"No," Sam shook her head slightly. "He's been up for a few minutes. I think his blood sugar was getting low, so I found some candy in the fridge and had him eat that,"

"Oh, jeeze," Daniel muttered to himself, then made a face and frowned. "Janet's going to kill me. I'm supposed to keep an eye on him for that and should've let you know..." He paused, brows knit together once more. "Wait, how _did _you know?"

"I was with you when Janet mentioned the blood sugar thing, remember?" Sam reminded him.

"Right, right," He nodded, then fixed his glasses on his face and ran a hand through his hair. "Janet said she wasn't going to give him any insulin for it, because it probably wouldn't get bad as long as I made sure he ate something somewhat sugary every few hours. She said he'd most likely be back to normal once his system had filtered his blood...or something.." Daniel shrugged idly. "God, I'm such an idiot!" He hissed to himself, ranting on and hugging his arms about his chest. "I should have given him something to eat hours ago," he cursed again, about to continue berating himself when Sam stopped his tirade with a firm, but reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Daniel, it's okay. He's alright now," Sam said in a hushed tone, not wanting Jack to overhear.

Sighing loudly, Daniel lowered his arms and offered a tight smile. "Yeah, thanks to you," He nodded, moving with Sam back to the kitchen.

Going over to sit at the table where Teal'c had already distributed food and drinks, Sam waited a moment, seeing Jack getting up off the couch to join them before she sat down. She took a sip of the iced tea Teal'c had set in front of her and then bit into a ravioli. When Jack slowly pulled out the chair beside her and gingerly sat down, she glanced at him briefly and offered a small smile when he looked at her. He appeared to be feeling better, but she couldn't be sure.

Jack raised an eyebrow as he looked at the paper plate Teal'c pushed in front of him. "Steak. Nice," he nodded toward Daniel appreciatively. Picking up a knife with his right hand, Jack reached for his fork with his left to start cutting the meat when he realized that he couldn't quite grasp the utensil with the cast on his left arm. Sighing softly in frustration, Jack was grateful, and a little embarrassed, when Sam silently slid his plate toward her and began cutting up his steak. "Thanks Sam," he said softly with a small smile.

Sam smiled and nodded in return. She was mildly surprised he'd used her first name in front of Daniel and Teal'c, but wasn't sure she'd feel very comfortable returning the gesture in front of their friends. "No problem," she responded, deliberately leaving out any acknowledgement of 'sir', 'Colonel', or 'Jack'.

Once finishing nearly all his steak and half the baked potato that came with it, Jack was ready to call it quits. He nudged his plate forward and leaned back in the chair, lightly resting his right hand over his stomach. "I am stuffed!" he exclaimed with a grin, seeing Daniel finishing his veal cutlet while Teal'c had demolished his own steak minutes ago, and Sam had re-boxed her remainder of raviolis.

Sam smiled to the side at him. He looked a little tired, but it didn't appear to be from low blood sugar any longer. Standing up, she started to clear the rest of the paper plates and take-out boxes.

Jack followed Sam and got out of his seat to help her clean up the table. No one made a move to stop him, and he was very grateful for that. He didn't need them telling him what it could or couldn't do in his condition. He knew his limits, even though he tended to push those boundaries more often than not. His side ached a little when he stood and bent over the table to reach for some things with his right hand, but that didn't stop him.

"Gee Jack, if I knew you'd clean up the place, I'd invite you over for dinner more often," Daniel joked with a friendly, teasing smile. When Jack glared at him, he could see in his friend's dark eyes that he was glad the teasing was in place instead of mothering.

Jack chuckled and waved his casted arm at him. "Watch it Danny, or I'll tell the Doc you ain't being nice," He smirked devilishly and turned to follow Sam with the garbage to toss it in the trash bin.

-


	12. TWELVE

**Note: **Thanks for the reviews:)

**TWELVE**

Sam and Teal'c stuck around after they ate, and the four of them all decided to watch a movie. Since Daniel didn't have any movies besides _History Channel_ specials and the like, Sam and Teal'c volunteered, as the guests, to run down to the video store and pick something up. They came back with a choice between one of the _Star Wars_ movies, obviously Teal'c's pick, and _Pirates of the Caribbean_, chosen by Sam. Despite liking to pick everything apart, Sam would have rather enjoyed a sci-fi flick, but since Teal'c had already covered that department, she chose something different, figuring that the pirate movie was something Jack might like.

Sharing the small couch with the Colonel, Sam was pleased to find that he actually _was _enjoying the movie she'd chosen, judging by the way he was staring intently at the screen and laughing at _Jack Sparrow's_ antics on scene. At first she'd thought he was only grateful that they weren't stuck watching _Star Wars _again, but as the movie continued, she could see that he really liked it.

After the ending credits of the movie had begun rolling and Teal'c insisted on putting _Star Wars _in, Jack found himself relaxing and leaning into Sam at his right. He'd already taken his pills and could care less that the guys were around to see him being so friendly with Carter. He loved her, and at the moment he could care less who knew it. Of course, that was probably the drugs speaking, but it didn't matter. The only person that mattered right in that moment was Sam. He just had to somehow find a way to tell her.

Sam smiled down at Jack where he was now slumped into her left side, his cheek smushed into her shoulder as he breathed deeply with sleep. She blinked tiredly, trying not to let her own weariness take over.

-

Not quite sure what had woken her at first, Sam shifted and felt a weight against her left side. The weight was making indistinguishable grumbling noises, and when Sam remembered that she was on the couch beside Jack, her eyes opened and she straightened against the back cushions with a slight yawn. She blinked as her eyes blearily scanned the room where she saw Daniel get up off his recliner and amble toward the tv to remove the dvd from the player while Teal'c sat in another chair looking at the back of the _Star Wars _movie casing.

Sam nearly jumped out of her skin when Jack suddenly gasped at her side and jerked upright, his eyes snapping open as he loudly muttered, "We hafta go back!"

Daniel swung around so fast he nearly toppled himself, and Teal'c sat straighter and glanced toward O'Neill with a raised eyebrow. "Whoa, Jack, take it easy," Daniel handed the removed disc to Teal'c as he moved over to stand in front of his friend. "What are you talking about?"

Jack swallowed convulsively and moved his plastered arm to cover his right side with a slight grimace, the sudden movements having caused him some pain. He turned wild brown eyes on the archaeologist. "The planet, '974," he clarified in a steadier voice. "Those people... They helped us. We owe it to 'em to save them from the stinkin' Goa'uld and their pets,"

Daniel just smiled, which seemed to severely confuse Jack. He leaned forward and patted the man's shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry Jack, it's already taken care of. General Hammond's already sent in SG-3 and 11 to gather the refugees and we're currently searching for a planet to relocate them. As of now the Nox have temporarily taken them in," he assured his friend. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Jack breathed, barely a whisper. He heaved a sigh of relief and sunk down into the soft couch cushions again. Raising his left arm to run a hand through his hair, he paused, remembered the heavy cast and used his right arm instead. Glancing to his right, he smiled crookedly at Sam and felt his eyelids fluttering, suddenly very tired again.

Sam gently nudged Jack's arm when she caught his chin drooping. "Are you alright?" she whispered softly, repressing the natural urge to call him 'sir'.

Jack nodded groggily, his head falling to rest against Sam's shoulder again as he slumped into her. "Tired," he murmured barely audibly.

"Go back to sleep, it's okay," she assured him softly. Sam heard a soft murmur at her side, followed by the sound of heavy, even breathing.

Teal'c and Daniel shared a brief look, then Daniel stepped back from where he stood in front of Jack and returned to his recliner. It was rather late now, and as the archaeologist scanned the room, realized they all appeared to be ready to fall asleep. Well, besides Teal'c anyways. He always looked alert.

Sam seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Daniel, noticing he appeared pretty tired as well. "Teal'c and I should probably get going and let you guys sleep," she said quietly, not wanting to wake Jack.

Yawning, Daniel sat up in his chair and half smiled. "Yeah, I think that might be a good idea."

Teal'c stood and moved over to the couch as Sam carefully extracted herself from Jack, who was still slumped against her left side. He glanced back at Daniel. "Do you require our assistance getting O'Neill to bed?"

"No, I can handle it." Daniel waved a hand vaguely toward the hall. "I've just got the one room, and Jack insisted on taking the couch instead of stealing my bed, so he can just stay put. I'll grab a few blankets and a pillow for him."

The Jaffa gave a nod and waited patiently for Major Carter to head toward the door after she said good-bye to Daniel. "Sleep well Daniel Jackson," Teal'c bowed his head a bit and walked away with Sam as she tossed him the car keys. He could tell she was too tired to drive and didn't mind taking her home. Once he'd learned how, the Jaffa found that he quite enjoyed driving anyway, and relished the chance to take the wheel whenever he was able.

-

With his subconscious nudging him to alertness for some reason, Daniel opened his eyes and sat up in bed, reaching for his glasses on the bedside table. He didn't understand why he suddenly felt so apprehensive, until he remembered his roommate. _Jack, _he thought immediately, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and pausing to listen for anything that seemed amiss. Not hearing a thing, Daniel got up out of bed and padded towards the open door to his bedroom. Pausing again, he still didn't hear anything so decided to go to the living room and check on Jack to assure himself that his friend was still sleeping.

Shuffling in the dark toward the couch, Daniel fumbled to switch on the table lamp, nearly panicking when he didn't see Jack laying on the couch. But then his gaze drifted downward and he found his friend slumped on the floor in front of the sofa with his back leaning against it, holding his side with his broken arm, pain etched across his pale face. "Jesus, Jack!" Daniel gasped, immediately kneeling at his friend's side.

Jack's eyes snapped open and he peered at Daniel, disoriented.

Reaching out, Daniel placed a hand on Jack's shoulder, jerking back when his friend recoiled and flung himself sideways. "Whoa, easy Jack! Take it easy, it's me, it's Daniel," the archaeologist spoke calmly and softly. It seemed as though Jack was having a terrible dream, or had been. Daniel cringed at the thought that his friend was recalling his awful torture at the hands of the manimals.

"Daniel," Jack gasped, his eyes seeming to come into focus as his gaze swivelled toward his friend again.

"Yeah, Jack," Daniel nodded and carefully moved closer to his friend, taking him by the shoulders gently and helping him to sit upright again. "You okay? It's not your blood sugar, is it?" he asked, studying Jack carefully for any symptoms of low blood sugar that Janet told him to look out for.

Shaking his head slightly, Jack murmured a barely audible, "No," even though he didn't really remember the symptoms from when the doc explained them to him.

Daniel mentally went over his own list from what he recalled. _Nervousness? No, I can't really say he seems nervous at all... Sweating? _The archaeologist tilted his head, examining Jack in the light from the lamp he'd turned on before. _Nope. Not sweating. Although, if he was I'd assume it was from the vivid dream it seems like he's had. _Daniel continued on with his list. _Intense hunger? Um...I dunno. But I suppose he'd say something if he was really hungry. _

Discontinuing his mental list, Daniel nudged his friend's shoulder in an attempt to get him to look at him. "C'mon Jack, let's get you back on the couch," he said softly, already helping to pull the man upright.

Jack grunted as he bonelessly flopped back on the couch with Daniel's help. Raising up off the floor had made him unnaturally light-headed.

Daniel sat down on the couch beside Jack as he pulled up the blankets that had fallen on the floor along with his friend. He was surprised by Jack's actions when the lean man put a hand to his head and started to slump sideways. "Jack!" He gasped worriedly, grasping O'Neill behind his shoulders and not letting him fall. "Jack, what's wrong?" Daniel asked anxiously, unsure if he'd even get an answer.

"Really...dizzy.." Jack groaned nearly inaudibly, trying not to let himself pass out.

Tapping his bare foot against the floor nervously, Daniel wondered whether or not he should call Janet. It was the middle of the night, however, and it was just a little dizzy spell, probably nothing. And Jack would most likely be ticked in the morning if Daniel called the doctor in to make a house call. The archaeologist puzzled over his choices briefly, then turned to glance at Jack as he let go of his shoulders, sure that the man could sit up on his own now. "You wanna get some air or something?"

"Yeah," Jack blinked slowly and started to get to his feet. He immediately felt light-headed again as soon as he was standing upright, and nearly fell back into the couch cushions.

"Whoa, take it easy," Daniel grabbed his friend's upper arm, steadied him, and cautiously moved with him toward the door leading to the backyard.

Jack nearly passed out once they were outside, the dizzyness overwhelming him and driving him to his knees despite Daniel's efforts to keep him upright.

"C'mon Jack, stay with me," Daniel instructed worriedly, kneeling on the grass by O'Neill's side and hanging onto him so he didn't fall completely to the cold ground. "I really think I should call Janet.." he muttered more to himself than Jack. "Sam would kill me if anything happened to you,"

"What?" came Jack's breathy whisper. "Sam?" He lifted his head with effort, "..why?"

Daniel smiled a little to himself. "Because she loves you, you idiot, that's why," he laughed softly.

Shifting away from Daniel so that he was mostly holding himself up, Jack shot the archaeologist a comically puzzled expression. "She..." he trailed off, unable to complete the thought, though he knew it to be true. Or, atleast he hoped so.

"She loves you Jack," Daniel finished for him. "She told me," he grinned smugly, then said, "And you love her too, I know you do."

Too tired and dizzy to protest or come up with something to deny what Daniel already knew to be true, Jack struggled to his feet with briefly renewed strength. He put out a hand in pause, preventing Daniel from steadying him. When he was certain he could move on his own without passing out or falling over, Jack took a careful step back toward the door, then another, and another. "Don't call the doc," he muttered, taking deep, steadying breaths of the cool night air before he went back inside.

Daniel followed closely, shutting the door behind them. He knew it was pointless to start an argument with Jack now, and instead decided to bring up the conversation again in the morning. Watching Jack lay back down on the couch with a grunt, resting his plaster-coated arm across his stomach, Daniel tossed the blanket over him and stood there for a minute. "Okay, I won't call Janet now, but I am calling her in the morning to let her know what happened." When Jack just grunted, Daniel turned off the light, grabbed another blanket, and sunk into the armchair. He was still a bit worried about his best friend, and was going to watch over him until he fell asleep, staying in the lounge the rest of the night in case Jack needed something.

He pretended to sleep for a few minutes, relaxing finally when Jack let his head loll limply against the pillow and dozed off. Daniel's heart was still beating nervously in his chest and he doubted sleep would come easy. He was pretty shaken up over his friend's little episode, and wondered if he was making the right call by waiting until morning to speak with Janet.

-

Hanging up the phone, Daniel left the kitchen with a glass of orange juice in his hand and went to stand beside the couch where Jack was sitting. Perching himself on the end of the coffee table, Daniel handed Jack the juice. "I talked to Janet," he told him.

Jack took a sip of the orange juice and rose his head slowly. "Yeah?" he muttered expectantly.

"She wants me to bring you in this morning," Daniel explained. "She's going to run some tests, but she already thinks it might have to do with the medication you're on, so she said not to give you anything before we go in."

Raising an eyebrow, Jack lifted his glass. "Doesn't this count as something?" He joked lamely with a lopsided grin.

Shaking his head, Daniel rolled his eyes. "Pills Jack, she meant no pills." Looking his friend over, he cocked his head the side, brows furrowed slightly in concern. "How you feeling now? Still dizzy?"

"No, not so much," Jack stopped himself from shaking his head, just in case. His side was feeling a little sore with the lack of pain medication in his system, but he could deal with it.

"Okay, you about ready to get going then? Janet wants to get the tests done with so you can get back on your meds." Daniel stood, running a hand through his hair, still damp from his recent shower. "I'll grab some of your clothes so you can change on base."

With a heavy sigh, Jack nodded carefully and pushed off the couch with his good arm as he gingerly got to his feet. Almost immediately, he felt way more light-headed than when he was sitting, but it wasn't as bad as the previous night.

Finding Jack's infirmary slippers that he'd worn off base the other day, Daniel picked them up and tossed them on the floor in front of his friend. "Just put those on for now, I'll grab your shoes to take with us too." He could tell that Jack wasn't really appreciating being treated like a child and grimaced as he turned his head, reminding himself to tune that down along with the mothering.

-


	13. THIRTEEN

**Note: **Sorry this chapter took so long. I had a bit of writer's block trying to pull the story to a close. x0; Eep. But anyways, here it is. The next chapter should be the last. Please review:)

**THIRTEEN**

Despite Daniel's intentions to bring up last night's conversation with Jack in the morning, he just couldn't do it when he saw how miserable Jack was, sitting on a bed in the infirmary while Janet ran some tests. The archaeologist watched with a faint wince of sympathy as his friend's finger was pricked with a needle so Fraiser could check his blood sugar. Standing by, out of the way, Daniel found a swivel chair near the door and sat down.

Checking the glucose meter in her palm, Janet leaned over a medical tray and made a notation on Jack's chart, then set the meter down and smiled at him. "Well, your glucose levels are all back to normal, so we won't have to keep a close eye on that anymore. You should be okay now," Janet told him.

Jack shifted slightly on the bed as Fraiser strapped a blood pressure cuff to his upper right arm. "What's making me dizzy then?"

Janet began pumping the little rubber ball that caused the cuff to squeeze Jack's arm. "I have a hunch now, but I just want to make sure with this last test..." She examined the dial as the needle spun and the pressure slowly released. Her patient was raising an eyebrow in question at her by this point. "Mm-hm," Janet murmured to herself, nodding and pulling the cuff off Jack's arm. "Your blood pressure's low, and that's what's causing the dizzy spells. Now I've already tested your blood volume, and you're fine there, so I'm almost certain now that your medication caused the drop."

Nodding, Jack shifted on the bed again. "So now what?"

Knowing that he wasn't going to like her answer, Janet made a face and took a deep breath. "Now I have to run a few more tests, and _you're_ going to stay here and rest for a bit while I wait for the results."

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Jack groaned dramatically. He looked himself up and down briefly, still dressed in sweats and a t-shirt that he'd worn to bed. "Hey Doc, can I atleast shower if I'm stuck here?"

Janet picked up his chart again and studied him for a long moment. "Alright. I suppose it's best you take one here anyway. Atleast if you get dizzy you can hit the panic button in the shower and my nurses will be right there," she said, laying a hand on Jack's knee. "I'll have one of my staff check your stitches when you're done, too."

Jack huffed slightly and rolled his eyes. "Yippee," he grumped sarcastically.

Daniel leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, keeping silent. He smiled at Janet as she passed him and left to get Jack's test results and speak to her nurses.

-

Sam was heading into the infirmary to discuss some of her lab results from an off-world plant sample with Janet when she first spotted Daniel perched in a chair by the open door. He was flipping through a _National Geographic_ magazine and looking rather bored, not even noticing her until she tapped his shoulder. "Hey," she greeted softly, catching something out of the corner of her eye and seeing that Jack occupied one of the infirmary beds. "What's going on?" Her voice wavered slightly with concern.

"Oh," Daniel sat straighter and glanced toward the infirmary bed where Jack was sound asleep, curled up on his left side with his broken arm outstretched so the cast was out of the way. "He's just resting," the archaeologist assured her, recognizing that the machines hooked up to Jack to monitor his blood pressure and heart-rate might appear a bit worrysome to Sam. "Last night he got up in the middle of the night and had a dizzy spell, so I gave Janet a call this morning when he was still a bit dizzy, and she said to bring him down for some tests," he explained further.

"Has she found anything out yet?" Sam asked quietly, still looking in the Colonel's direction.

Daniel nodded, then stood as he explained. "Janet was just in a little while ago to adjust his medication. The stuff Jack was on before caused his blood pressure to drop and that's what was making him light-headed." He followed Sam as she moved beside their friend's bed, and spoke more quietly. "He's just had a shower and changed before Janet came back with the results, and she wanted him to rest for awhile before we headed back to my house."

"And he didn't complain?" Sam asked suspicously, raising both eyebrows at Daniel as she pulled a chair by the head of the bed and took a seat.

"Oh, he did," Daniel crossed his arms, a half smile on his face. "But he was really too tired to protest for long. Jack was asleep in no time."

Sam smiled a little and reached over the bed to gently take Jack's right hand. She didn't care that Daniel was there; he already knew her feelings for Jack and she didn't care about having to hide in front of him right now. She was done hiding or ignoring her feelings, and knew that it was about time she let the man she loved know the truth, no matter the cost.

Seeing that Sam appeared deep in thought and could use a moment alone, he quickly thought up a plausible excuse to leave when his stomach growled loudly. "Hey Sam, uh, I'm gonna head up to the commissary to grab something to eat. Do you mind...?"

"I'll stay," she answered quietly and automatically without even turning around. Sam didn't even hear the archaeologist leave. She began rubbing her thumb over Jack's hand and smiled warmly when his hand faintly squeezed hers and he opened his eyes. His sleepy, adorable expression warmed her heart, and her blue eyes shimmered with her smile. "Hi Jack," she said quietly, belatedly realizing she was being informal and not bothering to correct herself.

"Hi Sam," he murmured tiredly, mimicking her greeting.

"Daniel told me what was going on," she ignored his roll of the eyes and leaned a little closer. Their hands were still linked. "How are you feeling?"

His eyebrows rose and he grinned, squeezing her hand tighter. "Better," Jack slowly and reluctantly released her hand as he shifted on the bed and pushed himself into a sitting position. The conversation he'd had with Daniel the other night came up in his head, reminding him of his thoughts to himself while highly drugged up, earlier that same evening. He remembered wanting to find some way to tell her how he felt, and although this wasn't the most ideal setting, Jack decided it had to be now.

Seeing that Jack appeared deep in thought as though he were posed to say something significant, Sam sat straighter in her chair, waiting patiently.

"Carter," he started quietly, brows furrowed in serious thought as strong, unshielded emotion shone in his eyes, "I'm tired..."

Sam hung her head and tried to hide the disappointed look on her face. She cursed herself for hoping that he was about to say something more meaningful; the words she truly wanted to hear; words that matched her feelings for him. Taking in a steady breath, she was about to make an excuse to leave when she heard Jack exhale softly and begin to speak again.

"I'm tired of pretending the rules and regulations can dictate how I feel about you," Jack whispered in a deep, emotional voice. He exhaled loudly, feeling as though a great weight had been lifted from him now that the words were out. When Carter's head jerked up in surprise, her blue eyes wide and staring back at him with love and the same longing in his own eyes, Jack grinned.

Her expression shifted to one that was more wary and her delicate brows knit together. "Sir..." she nearly choked out the word, wanting to say his name so badly. Sam knew she loved him, and she wanted what he was saying to be true, but she had to be sure. She wouldn't allow her heart to be broken. "Are-are you sure this isn't just the drugs speaking here?"

Jack's smile faltered, but the love in his eyes never wavered. "I'm sure Sam," He deliberately used her name, hoping to get his point across. "I love you, and I have for a long time. It's just taken me awhile to get this far," Jack sent her a dopey grin, and she smiled in return.

She leaned closer and laid her hand over the blue cast on his broken arm, unable to reach the other one. "So...you're willing... I mean you want to... You'd be okay if we..._acted _on our feelings? Actually crossed that line?" Sam stumbled over the words as she realized what she'd wanted for so long was going to finally be possible.

"Yep," Jack gave a short nod, his expression uncertain for a moment. "If you want to Sam," he added hopefully, gazing at her with warm, adoring brown eyes.

Sam swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat and smiled, her eyes watery with happiness. "I want to Jack, I really want to."

"Great," Jack grinned with boyish enthusiasm and a hint of mischief. "Now tell Danny I'm not staying at his house anymore," He was looking at Sam hopefully, pleading her not to make him go back with Daniel, silently asking if she would take him in.

Nodding with a small smile, Sam could read between the lines easily enough. "I'm not sure Janet wants you home by yourself yet," she hesitated slightly, still a little bit in awe that she and Jack were finally going to have the relationship they'd longed for. "I'd be willing to take you in though. Jack," she smiled at him.

Grinning, Jack shifted slowly on the bed and swung his legs over the side. He was wearing a grey Chicago Blackhawks t-shirt that clung to his lean frame, and black sweatpants. Eyeing the wires and monitor leads attached to him with disdain, Jack fumbled to remove the unnecessary equipment with his one good arm, trying to dismantle the wires that snaked beneath the neck of his t-shirt.

Sam laughed quietly and gave him the extra hand he needed. She shut off the machines and sent him a wry smile. "I hope you know that Janet's going to come barging in here when the machines at the nurses station tell her that your monitors have been unplugged.

Jack snorted and rolled his eyes, then sat straighter and waved a hand in the air. "Good. Then I can tell her that I'm leaving," he announced. He just hoped she'd come quick before his remaining energy was completely deflated and she decided he couldn't go.

Pushing her chair back, Sam got to her feet and sat herself on the bed beside Jack, on his right. She took his hand, aware that there could be base personnel around to catch them at any moment. "We can probably talk about this later," she began quietly, "But what are we going to do about...those _much _hated regulations? I mean, I don't want you to have to retire, and I'd rather not resign myself, so...?"

Squeezing her hand, Jack tilted his head to the side a little and smiled at her reassuringly. "I'll have a talk with Hammond," he took a slow breath. "I'll let him know we haven't exactly crossed that line _yet_, but I'll also tell him that we'd both like to keep our positions on SG-1 and be able to have a relationship too." Jack smirked briefly. "I believe the President owes me a favor my now," He glanced sideways at Sam again. "Owes _us _a favor actually. I mean, we _have _saved the world once or twice."

Sam laughed softly and twisted sideways, dropping her forehead to his shoulder. She frowned suddenly, her voice a soft whisper. "What if they turn us down?"

Jack raised his arm and lovingly wrapped it around her shoulders. He turned his face into Sam's hair and kissed the top of her head. "I'll retire if I have to," he whispered into her hair. "I don't want to lose this,"

Smiling with a slight sniffle, Sam raised her head off his shoulder and looked into his dark eyes. "Me neither." The approaching tap of heel-clad feet alerted her that Janet was approaching, and she sat straighter as Jack's arm fell away from her shoulders.

If Janet was surprised to see Jack and Sam sitting cozily side-by-side on the bed when she entered the infirmary, she hid it well. Planting her hands on her hips, she shot a withering glare at the Colonel before gathering up his discarded wiring. "I assume this is your subtle way of telling me you believe you're fit to leave my infirmary, Colonel?" Fraiser had a dangerous smile, but her eyes were twinkling with mirth.

Responding with a wry grin, Jack nodded. "Yep." He shifted slightly so that his feet were more firmly planted on the ground and he was more leaning on the bed than sitting on it. It was a more discrete way to test that he wouldn't suffer a dizzy spell, and his legs weren't going to buckle under his weight. "You wanted me to rest before I left. I'm rested, now can I go?"

Heaving an exaggerated sigh, Janet rolled her eyes and dropped her arms by her sides. Her gaze flicked to Sam briefly, and she noticed her friend's cheeks were a faint shade of pink and she appeared to be trying to hide a face-splitting grin. Smiling to herself, Janet focused back on the Colonel and gave a nod. "Alright, you can leave." Janet reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a little orange pill bottle. She handed them to Jack and explained while he eyed the label critically. "That's the new medication I've had you on since the results came back. You shouldn't suffer any effects from low blood pressure as long as you take these as prescribed. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Smirking, Jack went to tuck the bottle in a non-existent pocket, catching his error when Sam placed her hand over his briefly before taking the pills from him. He nodded at her and turned back to the doctor that still stood before them.

"Want me to go let Daniel know you're ready to head out?" Janet asked as she finished checking the machines and putting away monitor wires.

Jack glanced sideways at Sam and opened his mouth to tell Janet that he wouldn't be going home with Daniel, when Sam hurriedly interrupted.

"I'll go," she said quickly with a calm smile in Janet's direction. Sam turned to Jack with a meaningful look that said, _I'll explain things to Daniel_. He seemed to understand, as he gave a short nod, and she hopped to her feet before leaving somewhat hurriedly.

Still leaning against the infirmary bed, more or less standing completely upright, Jack shifted uncomfortably under Janet's scrutiny. She seemed to be trying to figure out what had just happened, and he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat as he realized she probably could see what was going on. Atleast a little bit.

Janet's gaze shifted to Jack's chart when she realized she was making him uncomfortable. "I'll go get you something to take your other clothes home in," she smiled knowingly to herself before setting the chart down and turning to leave. "And I want you to rest when you get to Daniel's Colonel, that's an order," she called back.

"Yes ma'am," Jack grunted after her with a sloppy salute at the doctor's departure. He grinned to himself and sat back down on the bed before he fell over. The last of his energy reserves were pretty much spent, and he wished Sam would hurry it up getting back to him so he could go home.

-

It didn't take long for Sam to explain her and Jack's situation to Daniel. The archaeologist smiled broadly at her and got up from his seat in the commissary with a quiet, "It's about time,"

Sam smiled bashfully, her cheeks reddening slightly in embarassment. "You can't rush these things Daniel," she said quietly in defense as they stepped into the hall.

Still smiling ridiculously, Daniel gave Sam's shoulder a gentle pat. "I guess not." He kept quiet on their walk to the infirmary, forcing himself to stop grinning like a madman before they reached Janet. He had a feeling the smart doctor would already know something was up between Major Carter and the Colonel, but he supposed that since she was Sam's best friend, Fraiser wasn't about to blurt anything while they were on base.

Stepping into the infirmary, Sam saw Jack sitting on the bed and pulling on his sneakers that Daniel had brought for him. A plastic bag with his other clothes and infirmary slippers in it sat on the bed beside him. She could see that he couldn't tie his shoes with the awkward cast on his left arm, and wanted to go to his side and help, but knew she couldn't. Moving closer, she caught the brief look of frustration on his face as he decided to leave the sneakers untied. Then his dark eyes shifted to greet her and he gave a faint smile which she returned, albeit somewhat hesitantly as she remembered Janet and Daniel in the room.

Janet glanced toward Daniel and Sam briefly before her attention turned to Jack. She smiled kindly at him and nodded. "Got the pills I gave you?"

When Jack patted his non-existent pockets, he remembered Sam had took them from him and looked over at her for help. "Uh.."

"Oh, right, I've got the pills right here," Sam pulled the little orange container from her own pocket and shook it with an affirmative nod toward Jack.

"Okay, well as long as someone has them. You're free to go Colonel," Janet watched Jack eagerly grab his things with a nod and slowly walk toward the door with Sam and Daniel, his untied laces tapping softly against the floor tiles as he moved.

Jack was both eager and nervous to talk with the General about his impending relationship with Sam, but that was for another day. He'd have a little more time to think about exactly what to say until then. Maybe Sam could help. She was much better with words than he was, Jack thought with a crooked grin.

-

Jack spent the next week at home with Sam staying with him, and they took the opportunity just to spend time with each other. They'd indulged themselves in kisses, gentle touches, and snuggling, but hadn't gone much further than that. Jack was still recovering from his injuries, and he and Sam both weren't willing to cross that line quite yet until Jack had a chance to speak with Hammond. He didn't want to have to lie to the man. He respected the General too much for that, and Hammond trusted his word implicitly. There was no way Jack was going to break that trust.

As their week together came to an end, Jack had been able to slowly stop taking the pills Janet had prescribed for him, but the cast on his left arm would have to stay on for atleast another two weeks. However, SG-1 had all requested to go to the planet where they'd sent the refugees from P8Y-974 to see how they were settling in and bring in a few supplies, and although Jack wasn't cleared for duty yet, Hammond had granted them permission to go.

Having just left the infirmary after his pre-mission check with Janet, as he'd been ordered if he wanted to go off-world, Jack was on his way to meet the rest of SG-1 in the gear-up room. On his way down in the elevator, Jack was surprised to see General Hammond step inside the car with him. "Sir," he nodded toward his commanding officer respectfully, trying to prevent the anxious shifting of his feet that he wanted to do so badly. The look the General was giving him made Jack think he knew something about him and Sam already.

"Colonel," Hammond send him a short nod in return. "Come with me a moment son, would you? Before you head off with SG-1 I'd like to speak with you in my office,"

It wasn't a request, it was an order and Jack knew it. "Yes sir," He agreed as the elevator went down further. Jack swore he could feel his stomach lurching into his throat in time with the elevator car's movements. So many things were running through his mind at once, and he feared that Hammond was going to tell him something he seriously did not want to hear right now.

When the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, Hammond swiftly exited and headed down the hall toward his office, not waiting to see if Jack was following.

-


	14. FOURTEEN

**Note: **Wow, this chapter's been a long time in coming. Really sorry about the unintentional hiatus. But here's the last chapter, and it's a longer one for you guys too. :) Hope you enjoy, and again, sorry that this has taken forever!

**FOURTEEN**

Sam glanced to her side as Jack arrived in the gate room, all geared up with the sleeve of his jacket tugged all the way down, hiding most of the cast on his left arm. Her eyes carefully flicked to his face, and she could see that something was clearly on his mind. He seemed awfully pensive for a simple follow-up mission just to visit some friendly faces. As he came up beside her, offering up a tight smile, Sam's brows furrowed in confusion, but he simply gave her a look that assured her that he would let her know what was going on soon, but not right now. She nodded in silent understanding, then turned to face the gate as it _kawooshed _to life. Teal'c and Daniel headed up the ramp into the shimmering blue after a brief nod of acknowledgement toward O'Neill, then she and Jack soon followed.

The wormhole slurped at her back after Sam exited the shimmering blue event horizon, Jack emerging right behind her. He had an uneasy look on his face, for just a moment, then the commanding mask was up and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. She could tell that now still wasn't the time for him to tell her what had happened before he reached the gate room, and she forced herself to be patient and focus on why they were here on this planet. They were checking up on Ruksha's people; the kind folks that had helped them escape their second time from P8Y-974, and she suspected, atleast Ruksha had played some part in their escape the first time.

Now that she thought about it, Sam realized that their first escape had been way too easy. She hadn't had much chance to think about it during the actual escape, because she'd been unconscious, but afterwards, after the briefing and reports, and speaking with Daniel conversationally, she decided their chances shouldn't have been as good as they were. There had to have been another manimal, someone other than Ruksha, helping them out. Sam silently wondered about that while they tramped off toward the village, which was nearly a mile from the gate.

Jack gently reached for Sam's arm and pulled her back with him as they walked to the village, letting Teal'c and Daniel get a little more ahead. When she turned to him with a puzzled expression, he gave a slight inclination of his head with a serious look in his eyes.

The message came across to Sam clearly. He was ready to tell her what was going on now. Her pace slowed so she walked closely beside him.

"The General pulled me aside for a little chat on my way to the gate room," he began steadily, his voice low and just loud enough for her to hear.

Sam gulped, and couldn't help the wince that flickered across her face. "That...doesn't sound like a good thing," she grimaced, waiting for him to say more.

"Well...he knew there was something different about us when we came back from '974," Jack noticed Sam's face twitch, but she kept walking alongside him, now staring straight ahead. He chuckled humorlessly. "We really don't give the old man enough credit. He could see that our...ah, _professional _feelings for one another had changed."

As he paused, Sam raised her head and glanced sideways at him nervously. "I'm guessing we aren't being court martialled...since he's let us on this mission and all."

"For the moment...no," Jack's expression now twitched into a grimace. He stared down at his scuffed boots at they followed along the dirt path, several yards behind Teal'c and Daniel. "He asked me straight out if I thought the two of us could still function in the same unit without a personal relationship getting in the way, if the regs had been dropped. By that point I'd already explained that we hadn't really done anything yet, and then I also told him that I thought we'd be better off staying on SG-1, and neither of us would change the way we operated as a team just because we were together."

Sam's eyebrows rose hopefully, "And he said...?"

Jack sucked in a breath and released it in a long sigh. "Hammond said he'd speak with the President on our behalf while we're here. He trusts us, and he's willing to allow us to remain on SG-1, so neither of us has to get transferred, resign, or retire. But 'The Man' has the final say. He should have an answer by the time we get back."

"Oh," Sam's eyes clenched briefly, her pace slowing just a fraction.

"Well," Jack said loudly, nudging her arm and walking a little faster so they could catch up with Teal'c and Daniel, "Let's not let that spoil this visit now, eh?" He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Sighing through her nose, Sam matched his stride and put on a false smile as well, trying not to think about what could happen when they returned to the SGC.

-

The team finally reached a small village that appeared once-abandoned, still needing a lot of work, though it looked as if the refugees from P8Y-974 were doing a good job fixing it up little by little. The place was pretty primitive, but Sam figured anything was better than the grungy underground bunker they'd been surviving in. She'd bet that the people all thought that too. They could now go outside into the fresh air without fear of being captured or killed, and move freely among the small village, actually living their lives instead of merely surviving. Families could be reunited, as Ruksha and Ibsha had been, and from what Sam had heard, the Nox had even been kind enough to heal the sick and wounded while the refugees had temporarily shared planets with them.

Daniel waved his arms in a friendly greeting as he saw the big sabretooth-man emerge from a small hut. "Ruksha! Hi!"

With a huge cat's grin, Ruksha approached SG-1. "It is good to see you again, my friend," he nodded his head slightly at Daniel, then waved a big, paw-like hand toward the rest of the team. "My friends,"

Jack just nodded, but he was a little tense. He knew Ruksha had helped them out and done nothing to harm them, but he couldn't help but be wary of all the manimals. Their very existence unnerved him, and the fact that more than one of them hurt him very badly hadn't helped any. And the fact that the damn gator man-beastie had hurt Carter made him dislike their kind even more. But it wasn't their fault; the Goa'uld had done that to them. And folks like Ruksha hadn't always been that way.

Sam glanced sideways at Jack with concern. His rigid posture was obvious, and she knew that he was still disturbed by what had been done to him by the manimals, even if he'd never admit it. She consciously took a side step closer to him, smiling kindly at Ruksha.

Smiling, but at a lesser degree now, Ruksha gestured behind him. "Come inside, we have much to discuss,"

Jack nodded when Daniel glanced at him for silent approval, then he watched Teal'c and the archaeologist go with Ruksha before moving from his spot to slowly follow, Sam still close at his side.

Inside the small house, SG-1 sat around a big wooden table with Ruksha, his wife Ibsha, and a strange bear-looking fellow whom Jack was extremely wary of. Daniel knew that the manimal wouldn't have been there if he wasn't allied with Ruksha and the rest, so the archaeologist was immediately friendly and trustful. Teal'c was impassive, but sharply aware of everything that went on as usual.

"Forgive me," Ruksha said with a small, abashed grin as he waved a paw-like hand toward the bear-man. "This is my friend, Barrek. He help me assist you during the second escape,"

"Second escape?" Daniel questioned with a bit of confusion. His brows knit together in thought. "So...you helped us the first time too?"

"No," Ruksha bowed his large feline head slightly. "The first time I worked alone, and did not yet know I would find a friend in Barrek," he gestured toward the bear-man, who stood back from the table, leaning against a wall and nodding in acknowledgement.

Jack offered a wry smile and snapped his fingers, "I knew it was way too easy gettin' out the first time,"

Ruksha continued speaking, nodding his head toward Daniel. "After you were captured the second time, I took charge of removing your equipment, and made sure to leave your...communication device alone. The other manimals wanted your friend," his gaze shifted to Jack, "O'Neill, for his mark of the Ancients because they thought they could offer him to the Goa'uld and be rewarded. Their God has not come by in many years, and I believe he has abandoned them,"

Daniel and Sam both nodded at the same time, taking everything in with interest. "That makes sense," Sam muttered her thoughts aloud, then looked up at the others. Jack sat rigidly at her side. She'd felt him tense up as Ruksha explained what the manimals had wanted with him. "The Goa'uld ruling here must have found no more use for them. It could have been for a number of reasons, but I'm guessing they finally realized that even though the manimals had the potential to become stronger than them, since they couldn't become hosts, if the Goa'uld stopped supplying them with the technology and just left them alone, they could only advance so far. Apparently the Goa'uld didn't even think they were worth killing, sadly,"

Daniel nodded in agreement, then added, "And I'm assuming then, that the Goa'uld never gave them enough technology to be able to create any significant weapons or a ship,"

Teal'c spoke up then, "This sounds very much like something a Goa'uld would do. I do not believe they would ever return,"

"Well, that's just fine and dandy," Jack muttered, clapping one hand down on the wooden table lightly. "So the evil beasties are left to their own devices with no one left to torture and/or _enslave_, so who cares? To hell with 'em,"

The archaeologist's gaze swiveled over to the Colonel. "Yes Jack, I'm not suggesting we do anything about it,"

"Good," Jack growled firmly. His broken left arm rested against his lap, and his gaze flickered sideways when he felt Sam lay a comforting hand on his right knee.

Before any arguments could arise, Ruksha's wife, Ibsha, entered the small house accompanied by Rendar, the older man that had taken them in back on the planet.

Daniel was smiling at them both as he got to his feet in greeting. "Rendar, Ibsha, it's good to see you again,"

Ibsha was smiling with genuine happiness, her tanned skin flawless and clean, a sharp contrast to when they'd first met her. Her green eyes were still bright and trusting, and her dark, reddish-brown hair appeared lighter, being clean. "It is good to see you all again as well," she nodded toward each in turn, sidling up to her husband and linking their arms together.

Rendar nodded in agreement with Ibsha's statement. His scraggly grey beard had been shaved, and he looked younger for it. The man had also cleaned up and seemed much healthier and happier. "I'm glad to see you have faired well for your troubles,"

Jack self-consciously lowered his plastered arm beneath the table and sent Rendar a crooked grin as the older man's gaze swept over him. He tugged his sleave down further to try and hide it more. "Yeah, mostly anyways," he murmured softly. None of their people had known anyone had been injured after his and Daniel's escape, and Ruksha was the last of them he'd seen before they took off for the stargate.

After chatting for a long while about how things were going on the new planet and everything, learning about how grateful the people all were for what SG-1 had done for them, and taking a tour around the small village, Sam could see that all the walking and chatting had tired Jack. He hadn't been cleared fit for duty yet, and she knew that this off-world trip was a special occasion, and afterwards Jack would be on light duties for a bit longer. Although the team hadn't done anything strenuous during their visit, it was still more activity than Jack had done since he'd been injured, and it was pretty taxing on his still-healing body.

Sam subtly pulled Jack aside when Daniel and Teal'c sat down on a bench outside Rendar's house and continued talking with him and Leynus, whom they'd met up with during the tour around the village.

Jack glanced sideways at Sam with a raised eyebrow as she held onto his elbow and pulled him over beside one of the buildings set up for some sort of shop. "What?" He asked, straightening his posture to try and make it seem like he wasn't as tired as he was.

It wasn't hard for Sam to see past the act. She gestured toward the stack of wooden beams on the ground behind him. "Jack, why don't you sit down for a minute,"

His eyes narrowed and he grunted. "No thanks, I'm good standing,"

Sam heaved a frustrated sigh and moved next to him, sitting down on the beams. She hesitated briefly before the next words left her mouth, "Stop being stubborn and just sit down. You're exhausted Jack. _Please_," Even after spending a week alone with Jack, it still felt a little weird showing her emotions to him and saying what she really wanted to say, without fear of being reprimanded. Which, technically, he still had the right to do at this moment, considering they were off-world and technically on a mission. Especially if they were going to get the chance to prove to Hammond they could still function as a team.

Instead of arguing, Jack sat beside her a little reluctantly. He rolled his eyes and grinned, nudging her teasingly with his right elbow. "Atleast you're not bossin' me around in front of Daniel an' Teal'c. Danny would never follow my orders again,"

"Like he follows them now?" Sam laughed softly, shoving him back just as teasingly.

Jack's shoulders slumped visibly after a moment, and his broken arm slid over his lap to subtly press against his right side. His abused muscles had started to get sore during their long walk around the village, but there was no way he would've mentioned anything.

Sam smiled gently at him and put her hand on his leg, her thumb lightly rubbing against his knee. "We've been here awhile now, maybe we should pack up and head home soon?"

He sighed, eyes closing for a long moment before he turned his head and his deep brown orbs met her sparkling blue ones. "I'm not so sure I'm ready to go back,"

When Jack grimaced a little, Sam knew exactly why. It was the same reason she was dreading their return to Earth. Hammond's news could make or break things for herself, Jack, and SG-1. She squeezed his knee, trying to draw strength from him and offer it at the same time. Smiling tightly, she changed the subject, pulling a single packet of Tylenol from her vest pocket and handing it to him. "Here,"

Jack raised both eyebrows, slowly reaching for the packet after Sam narrowed her eyes at him. Tearing it open with his teeth, he dry-swallowed the pills before pulling out his canteen and taking a few slugs of water. Getting to his feet with a visible grimace, he quickly let a neutral mask slip back into the place to hide his discomfort. "Alright, let's get the boys and go home,"

Sam nodded at him as she got up, and the two walked out together.

-

Both Fraiser and Hammond were waiting at the bottom of the ramp when SG-1 returned. Sam stiffened apprehensively and saw Jack's shoulders tense. Teal'c and Daniel walked down the ramp without hesitating, figuring the General was just there to find out how things went. But no one was really sure why Janet was there. None of them had gotten injured and they didn't understand her presence.

"Sir," Jack greeted the General with a nod. He didn't expect the man to mention anything about the decision he was supposed to have for him right in front of everybody, but Jack had hoped to be able to get an idea from the man's expression. No go as it turned out. Hammond was giving nothing away, his expression perfectly neutral. That scared Jack more than anything.

"Colonel," Hammond nodded back at him and then addressed the entire team. "SG-1, report to the briefing room. I'd like to know how our new friends are doing," he smiled for a moment, then tilted his chin in Dr. Fraiser's direction, the small woman standing still at his side.

"Please come with me first, Colonel." Janet said with a knowing smile. At Jack's puzzled look, she explained, "I'd like to check you over quickly before you attend the debriefing with the rest of your team. This was a condition to which the General agreed to so you'd be able to go on the mission since I hadn't cleared you fit for full duties yet,"

With a momentary roll of his eyes and a slightly exasperated sigh, Jack dropped his chin and nodded with a forced smile. "Yes ma'am,"

Daniel looked over at Sam as he noticed her glance at Jack apprehensively. Turning back slightly to where Teal'c stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the archaeologist shrugged and left the gate room to attend their debriefing.

-

Janet calmly approached Jack where he sat on one of the beds in the infirmary, fidgeting more than usual and swinging his legs back and forth. She smiled gently and waved a hand at him. "Colonel, kindly lift your shirt so I can check your wound, please,"

Rolling his eyes, Jack gave an irritated huff and quit swinging his legs so he didn't kick the doctor as she neared. Sliding off the bed, he stood and lifted his shirt with his right hand, holding it up while Janet slipped on a pair of gloves and began examining him. "It's fine, Doc," he assured her confidently.

"Let me be the judge of that sir," she quickly replied, lightly prodding the area around the healing entrance and exit wounds on his right side. Once the stitches had been taken out, the wounds had kept closed and were looking rather well, not showing any signs of infection. Smiling, Janet stood straight and tugged the bottom of his shirt from Jack's grasp, pulling it back down. "I'm glad to say that you're healing very nicely," she gave a long pause, "On the outside atleast,"

Jack made a face at the doctor and shoved just his right hand into his pants pocket. The left was too big to fit with the cast on.

"Still experiencing muscle pain?" Janet asked with clinical concern.

"When I move around alot," Jack responded dismissively with a shrug.

Fraiser eyed him pointedly. "And I suppose you've done just that today, hm?"

"Mostly walking," was his quick, careless answer.

"And walking effects the abdominal muscles along your side, so I'm going to safely say that you're a bit sore?" Janet crossed her arms, knowing she had him effectively pinned with the look in her eyes. There was no way he could deny it.

Jack sighed, suddenly finding the cast on his hand extremely fascinating. "I took some Tylenol off-world just before we came home," he said without directly answering the question.

"Mm-hm," Janet just nodded, crossed and uncrossed her arms. "Alright then, keep taking some form of mild painkiller every four hours for the rest of the day. You've still got the pain medication I sent you home with?"

"Yeah," Jack hadn't used them much when he was home the past week. He hated using the strong stuff most of the time, didn't like the feeling of being drugged out and not able to feel _anything_.

"If the pain gets worse than what the Tylenol can handle, take one of those before bed," Janet knew he probably wouldn't, even if the Tylenol didn't do the trick.

Nodding absently, and still greatly distracted by the thoughts of what news Hammond had for him and Sam, Jack's gaze kept flickering toward the door. He hadn't even realized it at first, but he'd been shifting from foot to foot as the doctor spoke with him. "Okay, can I go now?"

Janet smiled and waved him off. "Fine, go, shoo!" She nearly laughed as the Colonel practically bolted from the infirmary.

-

Jack had forgotten about being exhausted and was running off nervous energy as he made it to the briefing room in record time. Daniel, Teal'c, Sam, and the General all glanced in his direction as he gave a nod and tried to slow his breathing as he approached the table, but it was only Sam's blue eyes that he was focusing on. It sounded like they were wrapping up, and he faintly heard Hammond dismissing them before Daniel and Teal'c rose from their seats.

Hammond waved a hand at his 2IC, gesturing toward Sam as well as he slid his chair back and got up. "Colonel, Major, my office please,"

Daniel sent Jack an encouraging smile as he passed him, as though he knew what was going on and what Hammond wanted to see them about.

Teal'c nodded at O'Neill and silently strode by him, hands clasped behind his back.

Jack gulped, his eyes darting toward Sam as he moved to follow her into the General's office. He heavily took a seat, his plastered arm coming to rest awkwardly on the arm of the chair while his other hand tapped a staccato beat against his thigh.

Sam shifted her chair closer to Jack's subtly before General Hammond entered. She watched the bald man stride calmly around his desk before settling in the leather armchair and looking between them. His face was unreadable, and that made her nervous. She unconsciously scraped the tips of her fingers against her chair's armrests and clenched her teeth.

"Sir I-" Jack began awkwardly, cutting himself off as the General raised a hand to forestall anything he might have said.

"Relax Jack," then Hammond smiled, a genuine one at that, and the tension in the room eased considerably.

O'Neill became suddenly hopeful. He stopped tapping at his thigh and risked a quick sideways glance at Sam. She appeared cautiously optimistic. Patiently, he waited for the General to speak.

"Major Carter, I'm assuming Jack has told you that I talked with him before you went off-world?" Hammond began, continuing to speak as Sam gave a slow a nod, followed by a 'Yessir'. "Very well then," he nodded to himself and folded his hands over the desk. "The President is fully trusting my own personal judgement on this matter, and believes that if my decision does not affect the whole of the SGC and the work we do here, then it does not affect him and he isn't concerned,"

"Yessir?" Jack murmured slowly, unsurely. Hammond's expression was unreadable again.

"Tomorrow I'll be sending out a memo to all personnel, as well as an announcement over the speaker system, stating that the fraternization regulations have been suspended for the SGC," Seeing both Jack and Sam's relieved and stunned faces, the General kept speaking. "_However_, every month or so there will be a team evaluation, with each team member in attendance to determine whether or not the unit cohesion is still there, and any personnel wishing to pursue a relationship with another member of their field team must go through me first. I'll need to know which teams need to be included in the monthly evaluation."

"So," Jack began hesitantly, clearing his throat and blinking in stunned awe. It was still hard for him to believe that what he'd longed for for so long was finally going to be possible. "Does this mean no court martial?" His hands gestured in the air between himself and Sam.

"No Jack," Hammond chuckled, his face breaking out into a smile. "No court martial,"

"Phew," O'Neill leaned back in his chair with relieved silence.

"Also," The General added, both the Major and Colonel's attention raptly focusing on him once more, "I'm trusting the both of you to remain professional while on base, though whether or not you choose to address one another by your given name during your time here is solely up to you.

Sam gave a nod and smiled over at Jack. _Yes, Jack. _Her smile widened. She was finally able to speak his name in front of everybody, and there was no chance of her going back to calling him 'Sir' or 'Colonel', unless they were on a mission and she got totally into 'Major Carter' mode and slipped.

Jack was positively grinning from ear to ear in his seat beside Sam.

Hammond smiled to himself and rolled his eyes when the pair weren't looking at him. This had certainly been a long time coming. He just hoped their team dynamic wouldn't change, otherwise he'd have to split up his flagship team, and he really didn't want to do that. "Major, Colonel," he addressed each in turn, "I'll be making the announcement to the base sometime tomorrow, and SG-1 is officially on downtime for the weekend. Report to base on Monday morning. Dismissed," The General waved them off, watching the two nearly leap from their seats and exit the office as though he might change his mind.

-

Not yet saying a word to eachother, the pair headed down the stairs. Sam noticed Jack's slight wince with every other step, her arm brushing against his as they neared the bottom.

"So," he started quietly as they began now walking along the corridor toward the elevators. "We have the weekend," Jack glanced over at her and smiled.

Sam grinned teasingly. "Yep. I think I'm gonna spend two days at home in the garage, working on my bike." She giggled as Jack shot her a look, then lightly swatted his shoulder.

"Think we should give Danny and Teal'c the news?" he asked playfully, his dark eyes showing unhidden happiness.

"Nah," Sam waved a hand dismissively as they stepped into the elevator together, "They'll know once they hear the announcement tomorrow," she laughed.

Jack chuckled and unconsciously leaned back against the elevator wall. After a moment of companionable silence, he suddenly pushed off from the wall and cocked his head to the side at Sam. "Let me make you dinner tonight," He said hopefully.

Sam gave him a suspicious look. "I thought you couldn't cook?"

He shrugged, smiling a little. "I can grill. Sorta," His smile widened as she laughed. He loved the sound of her laugh, and hearing it unrepressed was certainly something special. It was something he really enjoyed during their week together while he was convalescing. Having Carter near him, not holding back her feelings. God, he loved her.

"I have a better idea," Sam said, sidling a little closer to him. "You come to _my _house and I order us some take-out. We'll relax in the living room and veg out,"

Jack lowered his head and eyed her through raised brows. He crossed his arms awkwardly with the cast on his left. "Sam," he sang, knowing what she was trying to do.

"Come on Jack, you need to rest," Sam said in a firm, yet coaxing voice. "Besides, you're still not supposed to be driving,"

He sighed, rolling his eyes and giving in. Jack really didn't care what they did, as long as they were together. This time they didn't have to worry about regulations, or going too far. And although Jack knew he wasn't physically ready to be intimate with Sam - though not by choice - he could be patient because he knew that there'd be a special time for that, and there was nothing holding them back. "Okay," he said softly. "Your place it is then,"

Sam wanted him to spend the night, though she wasn't quite sure how to ask. As the elevator came to a stop at the locker room level and opened up, she briefly chewed her bottom lip as they stepped out together. They were both still in their BDUs, and she assumed he'd be changing into civvies before they left, as she planned to. "Do you want to stop at your place to get some things on the way? I think I left some of my clothes at your house anyways,"

Jack nodded slowly and then glanced at her sideways, smirking. "You tryin' to say you want me to stay over tonight?" he teased, watching Sam blush a little and laughing. When she didn't say anything, he grasped her arm gently and they stopped in the empty corridor. His voice softened, and his dark eyes locked onto her blue ones seriously. "It's okay. I just want to be wherever you are,"

Nodding, Sam's eyes twinkled and she moved her arm from his grasp, taking his hand and squeezing briefly. "Me too," she told him quietly.

-

Jack was pretty tired when they reached Sam's house, and she firmly insisted that he get comfortable on the couch while she dug out the paper plates and some drinks after ordering take-out. He felt guilty about nearly falling asleep on her, after all they'd been through to get this far. Being near her was enough for him, but Jack had to wonder, was it enough for her?

Setting down the plates and drinks on the coffee table, Sam turned on the tv and snuggled right up to Jack's left side. She kissed his cheek and smiled. "Pizza should be here in about twenty minutes,"

He nodded, turning his head to capture her lips with his own. Jack's right hand came around to the back of Sam's neck as he deepened the kiss for a long moment before smiling and slowly pulling away. "This is good," he murmured.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, happily dazed, "Pizza won't take long to get here at all,"

Jack rolled his eyes and lightly flicked his finger at the tip of her nose. "Funny,"

"I thought so," Sam grinned impishly and tucked her head into the crook of his shoulder.

Leaning back into the sofa, Jack nodded to himself. He'd gotten his answer. Just having this was enough for her too. Letting out a long, content sigh, Jack murmured, "Love you Sam,"

Tilting her head up, she kissed his chin and cuddled closer to him. "I love you too Jack."

-

Daniel brought his plate of waffles over to the familiar commissary table and sat down across from Teal'c. He blinked, then looked around the room, expecting to see the rest of SG-1. The General had given the entire team the weekend off, but he doubted that everyone had left already. Usually he and Sam needed to be kicked off base to get some downtime. But Sam wasn't around either. And normally Jack would stop by and pester Daniel about getting off base before he left. Odd.

Teal'c seemed to be wondering the same thing, until General Hammond's voice came over the loudspeaker.

When the announcement was over, Daniel shared a look with the Jaffa and smiled knowingly. "That explains it," he muttered softly.

Thinking on the same wave-length as his friend, Teal'c nodded with a quiet, "Indeed."

-The End-


End file.
